# The Diary of Sparrow Dansbury (updated 6-3-2003)



## Drawmack (May 3, 2003)

_Note_ this is a story hour written from the perspective of a PC. This story hour is written as a diary of this character. This first post is her background - it is drier then the rest will be as we were given an upper limit and I had trouble keeping it under that, so much trouble in fact that it is slightly over that. An now on with the story hour.

*Sparrow Dansbury Bio, from the Journals of Higuard Dansbury and Sparrow Dansbury*

*Dec. 2, 1878* - Higuard
A drenching rain fell in the evening tonight as Henesy went into labor. Having planed on taking her to the new general hospital we had not arranged for a midwife and word could not be sent as the roads were impassible. This left only my wife, my self and our elder child Danforth to give birth to the child. Danforth, at the tender age of five, was more of a hindrance then a help. The child is healthy, which is much more then I can say for Henesy. After hemorrhaging during the birth she bled to death in short order. I have decided to name the child Sparrow as one was perched on the window ledge during the entire ordeal.

*June 8, 1878* – Higuard
Just over six months of age and Sparrow is already beginning to talk. Today she spoke my name and said water. She is showing much higher aptitude then Danforth ever did. I have my hopes that she will follow in my footsteps and become a scholar. My job as a professor is proving to leave much free time which I can spend with my children. I am eternally grateful for this being their only parent and needed to delegate their upbringing to a nanny during the school year. This summer we are traveling to Austria, I hear that they are doing studies on the human mind there. I find this very interesting as it could lead to great things in the future.

*Sep. 23, 1878* – Higuard
We returned from Austria today, it’s a terrible country. I have never experienced such cold and muddy terrain in the dead of summer before. It is no wonder that they have such a high education level, there is nothing to do there except read and talk to colleagues. While there Dr. Liberstein told me of some ancient manuscripts that were found in the coldest reaches of the north. I was able to read a copy of one of them in German known as Unausprechlichen Kulten. I have not been able to get the horrid knowledge from my mind. I would not be able to believe that any of this were real if not for attempting some of the rituals my self and finding them to work.

*June 17, 1879* – Higuard
I received a post from Dr. Liberstein asking me is we could council this summer. He has alluded to further developments in what he is now referring to at the Cthulu mythos. I have told him that I would be happy to council with him but that it would have to be done at my home in the United States. My oldest Danforth is beginning to fall behind the other students at school. I need to spend some time with him, so that he can catch up before fall. Sparrow, on the other hand, is very advanced for her age. She is beginning to speak in entire sentences and only 18 months of age. She seems as physically weak as she is mentally strong though, sometimes I worry that Danforth may hurt her without meaning to. 

*Sep. 6, 1879* – Higuard
After counseling with Dr. L_________ this summer I have learned much about this Cthulu Mythos. It is very troubling, the more I learn the more my mind seems to slip away from me. The more I grasp what lies beyond our reality the less I grasp reality. I, however, do not see who I could possibly walk away now, knowing that small cults are beginning who intend to bring Cthulu into our world. Even with all this in my mind, I managed to help Dansforth get caught up. I fear that his sister will be teaching him soon. Today she said to me, Daddy, could I please have something to drink. I believe this shows a grasp of abstract thought, something Dansforth did not show until he was almost three and she is only 21 months.

*June 17, 1880* – Higuard
I procured another tome recently. This one is, as yet, undecipherable. It appears to be written in a mixture of Latin and the older Aramaic. I am currently attempting to decipher a couple of the shorter passages. Danforth fell behind again this year, I am afraid I will not be able to catch him up again. Sparrow is showing as much growth as she always has. At two and a half years she already knows her alphabet and her numbers to 100. She will be a wonderful woman, if I can keep her from Cthulu.

*June 12, 1881* – Higuard
Today was a wonderful sunny day, with the air of gloom in the future. I received post from Dr. L________ today that said a small cult near my home has become active. They have even had small successes at opening small portals to the abyss. Luckily they have not opened one large enough for anything to come through. They must be stopped; I have been given the names of those deemed trust worthy by Deep 7. Danforth will not catch up in school and his proctor tells me he fears that Danforth may be Mentally Deficient. Sparrow on the other hand is far beyond her years in education. Today she showed me a sentence in child’s script reading THE CAT IS BLUE. She told me that Danforth has been teaching her. I can’t imagine a child who is falling behind his own age group is helping to advance Sparrow beyond hers.

*June 1, 1882* – Higuard
The cultists have been defeated. Though I had to use one of the spells I learned from the parts of the Necronomicon that I have translated. I fear that I have passed the point of no return from researching this ancient evil. The alienist who is treating me says he thinks I may recover if I can get over my delusions that a conspiracy to take over the world is underway. He also claims there is no Deep 7 and that I cannot be a member of an organization that does not exist. The proctor tells me that Danforth must repeat the fourth grade. He says that Danforth is trying very hard and he wants him put into remedial classes. Sparrow had her interview to start school last week and they will be starting her a grade ahead.

*June 27, 1883* – Higuard
I am sending the children away; the cultists are watching me every waking minute. I can hear their mutters and feel their eyes on me every second of the day. I believe they have brought through some of the smaller monsters, possibly an insect from Shaggai or Shan. The proctors have recommended that Danforth go to a school for the challenged in New York City, ironically they have also recommended that Sparrow go to a school for the gifted that is almost across the street. I am sending the kids to these schools but under assumed names. I’m hoping that the cultists cannot track them there. I hope that my children never have to see the horrors that I have seen. I must go now as I fear for my life, I am going to have myself committed also under an assumed name. Dr. L_________ will know where I am and my Sparrow knows who to look up when she is of age.

*June 21, 1900* – Sparrow
I finally graduated from East Stroudsburg Normal school. While my degree is in teaching I have spent much time working with Dr. Grist studying the new Freudian theories emerging from Austria. I am attempting to get a scholarship to The University of Austria so that I may study under Freud. Dr. Grist knows Freud and thinks he may be able to get me in but I’ll have to pretend to be a man. That doesn’t bother me any, I’m disturbed by the thought of being romantic with a man and I prefer to dress in a suit to a dress anyway; though I do not want to give up my long hair.

*June 12, 1901* – Sparrow
I completed my first year at the University of Austria. After spending a year abroad this town seems to small to contain me. After spending years at school in New York I found the countryside to be a quaint change of pace. After the break though and experiencing a foreign city I am feeling much better about city life. I am also enjoying living as a man. I heard some of the boys talking and they feared that they may be homosexual because they have feelings for me. I also met a wonderful woman named Jennifer. Her and I kissing in the dormitory really did the trick to get over those rumors of me being a cross dresser. I have not located Dr. L_______ yet but I am getting very close. I believe he has taken an assumed name as Dr. Wienstien.

*June 6, 1902* – Sparrow
I am now an alienist with my master’s degree. I have come back to teach at East Stroudsburg Normal School and work with the local police. Many of them think I am nuts but the chief believes that I may be correct in thinking that there is a connection between psychology and crime. Though he doesn’t know that I believe the killer can be found by the way he commits a crime alone. Now that I have a permanent residence I have also brought Danforth here to live with me. His doctors tell me he has the mind of a 12 year old and he will never progress. They say I should be cautious around him though since he has the strength of a bull. Dr. L________ tells me that my father is in an asylum near Utica New York under the name, Darry Hervenstraw. I am planning a trip there to see him.

*June 17, 1902* – Sparrow
I finally got the money and time to go see my father last week. He thought I was Henesy and he would not stop talking about the people who followed him everywhere. He told me he saw the dark shadows that were following me everywhere. A short time after this he grabbed me and said that if he found out I was researching Cthulu or involved with Deep 7 in anyway he would personally rip my heart out. This ended our visit. I cannot let Danforth know he is alive, he would not understand what has happened to our once great father. 

*June 10, 1903* – Sparrow
I got a call from the asylum today. They found my father this morning with the top of his head cut off and his brain missing. His brain was just totally gone. I think that Dr. L______ may know more then he has let on to me. I am packing up myself and Danforth to go see him tomorrow. I will not leave his side until I know the whole story.

*June 10,1919* – Sparrow
I haven’t writing my journal in so long I feel like I am out of touch with myself. I have spent the last 16 years traveling all over Europe with Dr. L______. He claimed to be hiding from cultists. In the last year that I was there I found some of his personal papers that confirmed the existence of Deep 7 and the Cthulu cults. When I confronted him about this he gave my father’s journal to me and told me the whole story. He does not know what became of the two tomes my father owned but he believes them to be in a safe place. Danforth traveled with us and protected us, but he remained blissfully unaware believing that we were on a long holiday. I have gotten my old job teaching back but the new police chief will not allow me to continue my work with the police, so I’ll just have to do it rogue. I am currently living as a man so as to hide from some of the cultists who know what I look like. I have heard that there is a local sector of Deep 7 and I am hoping that they accept me into their fold.


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## DiFier (May 4, 2003)

This should be interesting.  and a great start.  I'm looking forward to more.


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## energy_One (May 4, 2003)

Mmm... "The Cthulhu Diaries".

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energy_One's Story Hour: Now with industrial strength!


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## Drawmack (May 5, 2003)

*The Case of the Winslow Estate*

April 4, 1921
Between classes this morning I got a call from a David Lager. I instantly recognized the last name, but couldn’t recall this man. After some time spent on idol banter with him talking about my family and father he got down to the purpose of his call. It seems that he had heard I take private detective work on the side. I asked him to come to the office to talk. 

Mr. Lager arrived at my office quite promptly, giving me barely enough time to contact two of my investigative colleagues Bill and Lizzie. Through talking with Mr. Lager I found out that he was a friend of the local hero, James Winslow. He had sold Mr. Winslow the property he built his estate on and wants us to investigate the three year old disappearance of his friend. A part of me is curious why he is approaching us now, why not sooner, but I do not ask him and proceed on with the details of the case. 

He doesn’t know much useful information about the case. He knows that Mr. Winslow was very secretive about the house going so far as to hire a construction company from out of town. It took over a year for the house to be completed with a crew working seven days a week, but the house should have only taken three months on that schedule. On the day of the disappearance he met Mr. Winslow for lunch. When Mr. Winslow departed he went to the house. Some time later Mr. Winslow’s car was found in front of the house but there was no sign of Mr. Winslow. Since this time three other families have lived in the house.

The Milheim’s, one of our history professor’s families, moved into the house first. Their son, Louis, reported that he saw a man in his room that vanished when he turned on the light. A different incident, however, spurned their leaving. Returning home from holiday they entered to find the living room walls completely soaked in blood. Then as they stood there locked in a gaze of horrific awe the blood vanished before their eyes. They left the house never to return.

After the Milheim’s a pregnant couple, the O’Hara’s, moved in. They only stayed for about three months. As per the real estate laws, the new occupants were informed of the house’s history but this did not deter them. Mr. O’Hara is quoted as saying, apparitions only scare the weak of spirit and mind. In November they went away for thanksgiving and returned to find all of there possessions destroyed. Furniture was smashed to bits, cloth was ripped into confetti and the piles of debris were left in the center of each room. There was no sign of forced entry, no evidence that trespassers had even been on the estate could be found, the doors and windows were still locked and no strange activity had been reported at the house. The O’Hara’s never entered the house again, even paying people to clean up the mess.

The last couple was the Mosher’s, a couple who moved here to retire. They only lived there a very brief time. I remember the news paper articles. On Christmas morning the couple was found dead in their beds by the daughter and grand-children. My understanding is that that it was defiantly murder; but the case remains unsolved with a dead trail.

I inform Mr. Lager that I have decided to take the case, but would have to get my colleagues to agree and that we would need to settle on price before I could get them to agree. We settled on the amazing fee of $17 an hour plus expenses with $50 up front for each of us. My colleagues agreed rather rapidly. I can’t help but shake the feeling that Mr. Lager is playing the weasel here, but I can’t figure out why. He defiantly only cares for himself and there has got to be a reason he waited this long to contact someone. I must remember to investigate those things as the case progresses. Privately Mr. Lager offered me an extra $200 if I could provide proof that it was super natural activity and that the house was clean.

In the evening I spoke with Dr. Milheim and his wife, Amelia. He told me that he loved the house but his wife and son spoke of strange goings on in the house. He, however, never saw a thing. He does recall encountering a retched stench. He dismissed it as the septic system on a hot day and had it pumped out the following week. Amelia would not tell me much but she did state the just looking at the house makes her uncomfortable as if something is amiss with the place. Louis seemed very distant, especially for a child his age. I could not get the parents to let me talk with the child, but I know there is information locked in that tiny little mind of his that I need to get at.

After my meeting with Dr. Milheim I decided to unwind with a few drinks and Bill’s club. While I was there an old friend, Officer Jones, came in with what I assumed to be a rookie partner. After making small talk with Jonesy for a little bit I pull him to the side to talk about what’s bothering him. 

He tells me it’s the Mosher case. He says it just doesn’t add up. The father was found next to the bed where a struggle had taken place. The entire bedroom was in disarray. He had a .45 caliber bullet wound to the back of his head. The mother was found in the hall closet, the coroner’s report state’s that it was a heart attack but he doesn’t believe it.  The things at the house just don’t add up. Every window and door in the house was locked except the front door which showed signs of forced entry. There wasn’t a single track leading to the house and no foot or finger prints anywhere inside the house. It just doesn’t add up, it’s really starting to get to him. They had a copy of the blue prints that were compared with the copy held by the original construction company, Insmouth Construction Co., and proved to be identical. Why would someone do this? What kind of monster kills a retired couple?

4-5-1921
I found many interesting pieces of information in the library today. Insmouth Construction Co. appears to be a rather large company but this house is the only time they have ventured out of New England. The company is owned by the Marsh family, who seem to own most of Insmouth. The Marsh family has had a couple of brushes with the law. They have always walked away unscathed. They are probably paying someone off. I came across an obscure court record from the civil war. It seems that during the mandatory drafts of the civil war no one from Insmouth went, a couple of people were brought up on charge but it was quickly covered up. 

After a day of hitting the books and teaching I head over to Bills social club to relax a bit before going home to attempt to prepare Danforth for tomorrow. When I get there, Jonsey is already there, sitting at the bar looking already intoxicated. In private counsel he tells me a junior architect was killed at the drafting house today, shot with a .45 caliber weapon. The building was then set on fire. He fears he will not be able to get me those blue prints I asked for. When I told him that wasn’t his fault he looked almost guilty. Then quickly said he was leaving.

I had Lizzie follow Jonsey home. She reported back to me that through a couple of unlucky turns she almost died. She saw Jonsey in an alley talking to someone, whose voice she recognized but could not place. Then she was spotted and when the unknown individual attempted to shoot her his gun misfired. She managed to hide behind a dumpster and over hear Jonsey saying, I don’t think she saw you just leave it alone. Then the two men walked away. 

I went to research the scene where the incident took place. There we located a .45 caliber shell and nothing else of note. While we were in the alley a car drove past very slowly, almost as if they were checking out the alley. I attempted to hide, but fear they may have seen me.


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## energy_One (May 5, 2003)

I'm really impressed. I was just talking to a friend yesterday about not necessarily being very excited to play CoC next semester when I start school... reservations all gone now!
______________________
energy_One's Story Hour: Well... it could be worse!


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## Drawmack (May 5, 2003)

energy_One said:
			
		

> *I'm really impressed. I was just talking to a friend yesterday about not necessarily being very excited to play CoC next semester when I start school... reservations all gone now!*




Thank you glad I could help. If I can recommend something though - a good solid character background is absolutely esential to this game. Give the DM lots of stuff to play with.


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## energy_One (May 5, 2003)

Drawmack said:
			
		

> *
> 
> Thank you glad I could help. If I can recommend something though - a good solid character background is absolutely esential to this game. Give the DM lots of stuff to play with. *




Oh, I've no problem with that at all. I rarely skimp on details, especially in a game like Cthulhu d20, which would  be be really, really sparse without some spice (lacking a lot of rules). It's so customizable it's _begging_ for backround. Not that I would skimp if it didn't beg. I'd just feed that critter and feed it. Etc.

______________________
energy_One's Story Hour: It's fun and easy to do!


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## Drawmack (May 6, 2003)

energy_One said:
			
		

> Oh, I've no problem with that at all. I rarely skimp on details, especially in a game like Cthulhu d20, which would  be be really, really sparse without some spice (lacking a lot of rules). It's so customizable it's _begging_ for backround. Not that I would skimp if it didn't beg. I'd just feed that critter and feed it. Etc.




Feed the critter all you want but please do not read the books


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## energy_One (May 6, 2003)

Drawmack said:
			
		

> *Feed the critter all you want but please do not read the books *



Feed the critt--what? Wait... *counts on his fingers*

...

What? Books? What books?
______________________
energy_One's Story Hour: Manchmal!


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## Drawmack (May 12, 2003)

There was no update this week due to mothers day we did play. Next monday there will be an update.


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## Broccli_Head (May 13, 2003)

Please don't drop youre Cthulu story...too many go by the wayside. 

I really enjoyed the passage of time in the first post...I love the siblings Danforth and Sparrow and I hope we can see more development of the Brute Protector!

I like the writing style ala "The Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward"....I'm waiting for the use of stygian or cyclopean as adjectives!  

_Insmouth Construction Co_--nice allusion!


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## Drawmack (May 16, 2003)

Thank you Mr. Head or can I just call you Broccli?  

Anyway be sure to check back on monday for another entry in the Diary of Sparrow Dansbury.


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## Drawmack (May 19, 2003)

update coming tonight.


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## Drawmack (May 20, 2003)

4-7-1921
This morning had the air of an ominous day. I knew that we had to head to the Winslow estate and check out the house. Thinking about what information we could gather on the house made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. Lizzie, Bill and myself grabbed our muscle Roy and Vincent to come. As we approach the house I note the same feeling that Mrs. Milheim had told me about, it’s just this feeling that something is not right here. Taking a quick inventory of Danforth he seems cold but it’s a warm day. Something is just not right about this house. I may be on the right path to finding my father’s killers.

After allowing the others to mess with the front door a bit I unlocked it. The door opened into a mudroom, as is to be expected from a house of this construction. With some discussion we decided on starting in the basement and working to the attic. We walked around the side of the house and entered through the external entrance to the basement. 

Entering the basement everything seemed mostly normal. There were some storage rooms, a laundry room, a bathroom and something unusual. There was a 35’ square pillar in the center of the basement. Upon a cursory investigation is seemed like the pillar was just the main support of the house. While it was an unusual construction design we dismissed it as an eccentricity of the designer. The stairs leading to the first floor ran along the pillar.

Ascending the stairs we found ourselves in the kitchen. Two rooms came off of the kitchen. The library showed nothing of interest so we moved on into the dining room. We move on into the dining room. There is something about the floor in the center of the room that irks me. Unable to put my finger on what bothers me I decide to move on and look through the rest of the house but make not to return to this room for further investigations.

We exit the dining room into the living room. There is nothing of note in here except the pillar which continues up and at this level is covered with stone, we assume for decoration. Bill opened a door that came off towards the back of the house and let out a scream. Entering the room there is a discoloration in the floor that I instantly recognize as human blood. Upon seeing the blood Roy freaked and started running around the house. I grabbed him and started doing to triage psychotherapy on him, and manage to calm him enough to talk but he still would not enter the room. I went back into the room to investigate the source of the blood and it was absorbed into the floor. Vincent touched the floor where the blood had been and noted that it was warm. 

Pulling ourselves back together we continued on investigating the rest of the house. As Vincent and I entered the pallor we both span as if someone has walked up behind us but there was no one there. Turning I saw nothing, but Vincent saw a corpse with no eyes reaching out for him. Convinced that he needs to look behind himself, Vincent wants to break a mirror to keep an eye behind himself. Looking through my bag I found a hand mirror that I gave to him.

We quickly finished the downstairs without finding anything else of note. Then we continued on up the stairs. Going up the stairs I noticed a mechanical hum coming from the house itself.  Upon reaching the upstairs we notice light coming from a window. However the placement of this window is very odd. A hallway cuts between two rooms to the exterior wall where the window is placed. Why would someone put a dead end hallway in between two room sacrificing room space to do it? It would make much more sense to make the rooms slightly larger.

In the master bedrooms we notice that the closets are built out from the walls instead of being built into them. I know that some houses of this build had passageways built into the walls for the servants to use when navigating the house. Some of the walls appear to be very thick which seems to support this, but we cannot find any hidden entrances into the walls. This is a very strange house indeed.

Roy wandered into the bathroom alone. After being there for a short time he called Bill in to join him. Shortly after this the two of them called me into the bathroom. I am informed that Roy saw an image in the mirror of the bedroom, but it was not the bedroom right now. He was a corpse with no eyes enter the room and kill the Mosher’s. I touched the mirror and found it very warm. Bill thinks this could be the result of psychic energy.

In continuing the investigation of the second floor there is nothing much of note. There is another strange hallway with a window at the end. Lizzie opened the door to the closet where Mrs. Mosher was found and threw up from the smell. I helped her get cleaned up.

Continuing on the to the attic I hear the hum again as we climb the stairs by the column. The attic is just a large open room. I walk to a window and notice that there is an alcove around the window and the walls are very thick. We begin to rip some boards off of the thick walls and the column in the center and we find that they cover metal. In removing the floor boards we find more metal. Roy found something that looked as if it turned, but he could not turn it.

I convinced the others that we should head back into the living room and investigate it some more. We discovered that two of the floor boards didn’t line up properly. Upon further investigation we found a handle and when we pulled it an opening into a secret room was revealed. We descended a flight of stairs into a small room that seemed like a combination bedroom study. A rotting corpse lies on the floor near the foot of the stairs; he is holding a ceremonial dagger.

While my back was turned Lizzie decided to investigate the corpse. As she touched it, it came to life and grabbed onto her. In the ensuing battle every one of the party members feel from wounds. My medical knowledge was able to help all of them, accept for Danforth. During the battle Vincent, who was perched on the stairs, fell to the foot of the stairs and Lager entered the scene with his gun drawn. Immediately after this we managed to fell the Zombie while Bill had a hold of Lager with his scalpel to his throat. After the zombie crumbled to dust a black entity floated into Lager. Eventually we managed to fell Lager as well, but it was not easy and nearly claimed all our lives. At this point the mechanical hum began again and got very loud as the walls began to close in, turning the house into a solid cube.

We quickly grabbed all the books off of the shelves, some vellum documents from the desk and an ancient tome from a hidden compartment in the book shelves. Touching the tome knocked me unconscious for about 18 seconds. I placed the tome, the documents and the ceremonial dagger into my bag for later research. 

Upstairs all the doors were locked and would not budge. We shot a window which only spider webbed. However, damaging the house in this manor stopped it from closing in and it returned to normal. We returned to the room and got Danforth’s body. As I went up the stairs I heard a moaning from Winslow’s body, but did not stop to check it out and ran from the house. In the truck on the way back to town I held Danforth and cried swearing vengeance against whatever did this.

We know that we must search Lager’s house and figure out what that bastard was doing there. I also must bury Danforth and research the things I took from the house. This will take a couple of weeks while we can all nurse our selves back to health.


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## Broccli_Head (May 20, 2003)

awww, man...you killed Danforth.


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## Drawmack (May 20, 2003)

I didn't kill Danforth the referee did, and believe me I'm not happy about it either. However it does give Sparrow that much more motivation.

Now her father went insane and years later was found with the top of his head removed and his brain missing and her brother died in the battle against evil.

This bitch it rearing to go get these guys.


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## Drawmack (May 26, 2003)

*4-8-1921*
Last night was a long night with bandaging and triaging everyone. This morning we buried D_______ privately. I got a doctor friend to do up the death certificate. The school has agreed to give me the rest of this semester off and I am going to put in for a sabbatical next year. I asked Lizzie and Roy to stay behind when the others left this morning.

I left Lizzie and Roy watching the house while I went into my “secret study” in the basement to begin deciphering the documents and tome retrieved from the W______ estate. There are ten sets of documents, only one of them is in a language I do not understand. The set I cannot read seems like an ancient form of Italian.

Luckily seven sets require very little interpretation as they are in Shakespearian English. It seems odd that one document would be so old while all the others are from around the same time period. The documents seem to be excerpts from private journals. Most of the documents say the same things. They speak of something, or someone, called The Blackness giving them what they ominously refer to as simply “The Book”. It seems that all of them were given the book while they were researching ancient civilizations. One speaks of the blackness coming to them in a dream. Some of them contain an Egyptian symbol known as the eye of darkness. All of them mention another document that tells them how to interpret the book. Some of the pages have marginal notes, that don’t seem to make much sense but do seem to refer to other documents. One of the documents is of particular interest.

One document is written in more modern English and is sectionalized with the eye of darkness as the separator. This one speaks of the eye as a barrier symbol that can hold back certain beings who may seek this book. It mentions an incantation that needs to be performed to take full advantage of this symbol. It also states the author feels The Blackness was not completely honest with him. Immediately after this statement the writing trails off and there is a splotch at the bottom of the page. The splotch is not ink, but I cannot tell what it is.

After spending the majority of the day doing this I went upstairs to find that Bill and Lizzie had prepared dinner for me. As we sat down Bill expressed an interest in going to L____’s house tonight. 

L____ lived in a small house on the edge of town. We had to break into L____’s house. There were only a couple of things of things of note in the house. We found an Egyptian picture hanging in the study in which Lizzie noticed the eye repeatedly so we removed the frame and took it with us. Roy noticed a parchment behind the picture. When he offered me the parchment I used tongs, I grabbed from my kitchen because of what the tome did to me, to grab it. Looking it over the paper appears to be written in an ancient form of Hebrew, possibly even Aramaic. 

Upstairs we found a more private study containing a couple other items of interest. This study seems to be in complete disarray. There are papers and books strewn haphazardly about the room. In one of the desk drawers I found L____’s personal journal. There was a safe hidden in the floor which Roy opened to reveal a code book.

After helping ourselves to some fine German sausages and beer from the fridge we retired to my house to sleep for the night. I will start translating the tome tomorrow.

*4-11-1921*
I haven’t written in a couple of days from being engrossed in my duties translating the tome. However, finding myself unable to sleep after a horrible nightmare tonight I have decided to make an entry in the journal.

Since we returned from the W______ estate Lizzie has had some problems with her left hand, the hand she held that dagger in. It started out as a black lump that looked like a boil. When I attempted to lance the boil it had no effect. Over the last three days it has turned into what looks like a perfect tattoo of the eye. 

Thursday when I began to study the book I felt an unnerving sensation just by touching it. The tome seemed to emanate warmth, but a warmth very unlike the one I felt from the mirror in the W______ estate. In studying the covering on the tome, I made the gruesome discovery that it was bound in ancient human skin. The first page only contains the eye emblazoned on it, taking up three quarters of the page. 

The first chapter of the book, all that I have managed to translate so far, is a letter from the translator. It explains that the book is titled Il Libro diLuci edOmbre or The Book of Light and Dark. The original tome was found in Egypt during the first crusade. This translation was made in Genoa in 1432 by Daniele Gagliano. In the style of Italian translations at that time this letter gives a complete genealogy of the translator. It also includes the ominous passage, “I fear that just by translating this book I am damning my immortal soul.” There are also details about the book; he translator believes that it dates from one hundred years before Christ’s birth at the latest. The book is believed to have originated in Egypt.

The name Blackness is very prevalent throughout the first chapter of the book. I do not believe that it is referencing the creature the journals referred to.

Tonight I suffered from a horrid nightmare. I was walking down a long corridor surrounded on both sides by columns or tall towers. I heard what sounded like metal on metal and wheels spinning. Something not of this world was urging me towards the sound. As I neared the end of the corridor the most horrific thing came into view. There was a dark skinned man on a chariot wearing a silk breach cloth. The chariot was made of solid gold and drawn by four black horses that breathed fire and had sparks coming from their hooves. The man turned and looked directly at me revealing teeth that were filed to sharp points. At this point I woke up.

Screaming I raced down the stairs to where my bag containing the picture from L____’s house was. With Lizzie and Bill close behind me I raced into the room and looked at the painting. The pillars were almost all gone. There stood but a single pillar in the center of the picture and that had grown very large with the eye emblazoned on both sides. Lizzie noticed that one of the eyes from the corner of the painting was gone. It seems odd that all these things have an Egyptian theme and the tome mentions Egypt repeatedly.

*4-12-1921*
The tome is beginning to unnerve me. Just being close to it increases my heart rate and quickens by breath. The book is getting into extremely esoteric territory. In some areas I can translate the words but the sentences do not make any sense. It keeps making reference to The People of the Monolith and a place called Hyperborea. With these strange references it is beginning to tax my mind just to translate the tome, how can I be sure that I’m translating the words correctly when the tome doesn’t make any sense? As I continue with my translation I come across the name Cthulu, he is mentioned as being the high priest of Azathoth. After four hours and fifty pages I decided to go upstairs for lunch.

Over lunch Lizzie informed me that L____’s journal talked of him meeting W______. He referred to him as an extremely wealthy man whom he did not like. She said the journal went from being the chronicles of an ordinary man’s life to talking extensively of a coven. Several times a person named Corpse was mentioned. She said it mentioned a discovery and that the circle was complete.

After lunch I returned to my work with the tome. When I left for lunch I locked the tome in my safe, but when I returned downstairs it was sitting out on the desk. There were no signs that anyone had been there. While this may seem strange to others, I am coming to expect things like this. 

The language is coming easy this afternoon, but the text makes absolutely no sense. As I translate the third chapter of the book the first two begin to make sense. The first was a simple history and the second was a chronicle of where the book’s knowledge originated from. The third chapter is talking about A_______ as the crawling chaos. A_______ seems to be the chief deity of an ancient and arcane religion. 

I decided to meet with Will Weatherston, a colleague of mine in the anthropology department, about the names referenced in the book. He’s never heard of C_____ or A_______ but he tells me that Hyperborea is an almost Atlantean myth that is many centuries older. Hyperborea was a mythological race that existed during the times of Pangaea in the modern area of Egypt. He thinks that The People of the Monolith is the title of a mythological tome that chronicles the existence of another race that existed at the same time as Hyperborea. He is certain of Hyperborea but is not sure about the People of the Monolith.

Roy looked at the picture from L____’s house again and it has changed yet again. The background used to be all sand and very Egyptian looking. Now it seems that the sand is fading and being replaced with grass. Roy thinks the scenery looks familiar but he cannot place it.

*4-13-1921*
This morning I slept in. As I was getting to my translation, around 11 am, Roy came into my study to tell me that a Mr. Ingram came calling and claimed to be the attorney for Brady Whitcombe. I went upstairs to talk to him.

Brady was the assistant of the local mortician Casey Grescht until Friday. Friday Casey was found murdered with Brady standing over his body, holding the murder weapon covered in blood. He wants me to use my forensic knowledge to prove Brady’s innocence. I inform him that I recommend we claim insanity to buy us more time to work. Ingram doesn’t like that idea but after some convincing agrees to talk to Brady about it. We will take the case but until Ingram gets back to me I don’t know what tact we will take with it. After the meeting I went back to my translations.

I didn’t manage to translate very much today. I got a late start and had a lot of trouble with the language. What I managed to translate seems to be a very intricate spell that allows mortals to speak with A_______ as they would speak with other mortals. This doesn’t seem like it is a good idea. I can only see a very desperate or very insane person doing this. I will continue the translations tomorrow. Tonight I am turning in early, this translation is taking enough of a toll on my mind without lack of sleep playing a part.


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## Broccli_Head (May 26, 2003)

very interesting....

Hyperborea, Cthulu, Azazoth, and the Book of Light and Dark!


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## Drawmack (May 26, 2003)

Not to mention a character that has already begun to loose sanity pionts beofre making third level.

Mr. Head - it is nice to know I have at least one regular reader.


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## Broccli_Head (May 27, 2003)

Well, I've always been a fan of Lovecraft and the Cthulu genre!


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## Drawmack (Jun 2, 2003)

This will be updated tonight


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## Drawmack (Jun 3, 2003)

4-14-1921
This morning as Roy and I were leaving to talk to Brady at the jail I noticed a note tacked to the door. The paper was new but tattered. The spelling and grammar were atrocious and there was some sort of grey green mold on the paper. The letter read (with the spelling and grammar cleaned up)

“I know what is going on and I know what you are doing. I can help you. Please don’t ask me why I haven’t come forward until now. Let’s just say it is not safe. I am very frightened and feel that I am in great danger. Before something happens I need to tell you what I know. Meet me tomorrow night inside the fence at the big dump at 10:00 pm. Bring NO Police! If I am right they are bad too. Good ones can’t help anyway. Tell NO ONE about this. The shadows have eyes and ears! I apologize for the secrecy but I am afraid. Please come.

X G AND M”

The letter smells like something that’s been dead for a long time. Roy and I quickly decided to go to the dump and meet our mystery men, but continue on about our business for now.

Roy searched Brady’s house while I got his lawyer to assure us entrance into the jail. Roy met us at the entrance to the jail and informed me that Brady’s house was a disaster area. There was more of that grey green mold around and the place looked like it had been ransacked. Seeing as the sheets were hard he deduced that this was just how Brady lived.

We found out some interesting information from Brady. He had motive to kill his boss. He didn’t like the man and made no secret of this. He was also, often gypped on his pay. When he entered the mortuary Gretch was already dead, beaten to death and filled with embalming fluid. The only lead that Brady can offer us about who the murderer might be is a muscular man in his late 30’s who used to bring packages to and from the mortuary but was not a currier. The man always looked like he didn’t want to be doing this and one time he showed up in hospital scrubs. 

Brady identified the mold for us. Apparently it is grave mold. This mold forms in coffins when water has gotten into the casket and allowed the corpse to decompose too quickly. A bit off that we would be finding this mold just lying around everywhere.

After the interview, Ingram handed me an evidence envelope. He said this contained the only important piece of evidence uncovered at the scene of the crime. Inside the envelope was a blood typing report and a note. They found blood assumed to belong to the killers. The blood is type B just like Brady’s but it contains high levels of bilirubin, a chemical produced by the reticuloendothelial system RES for short, this is usually produced in high quantities only by a dysfunctional liver or spleen and it the cause of jaundice. Brady’s blood does not contain abnormal amounts of this substance.

I decided to spend the rest of the day attempting to translate more of the tome. The language is coming easy to me now. The spell it seems does call the deity A_______ into our world but it does not control him. A_______ can act in any way he likes, stay as long as he likes and do whatever he likes to the caster. I don’t quite understand the full workings but I understand the purpose and intent of the spell now.

While I was researching Roy went to investigate the mortuary. He found the broken window used as a point of entrance. In the office he located a document that mentions an Erik Michele who worked for the mental hospital, who the mortuary worked with closely. It seems from the pay repots that Erik worked for Gretch, but Brady said that he was the only employee. This is not adding up in a very bad way.

In the evening we went to scout out the dump for the next nights meeting. We found the partially consumed carcass of a guard dog. There was a large hole pushed in the back of the fence. We made another hole in the front of the fence and hid a weapon amongst the garbage.

At night I experienced the same dream as before. This time as the man with pointed teeth’s skin had taken on a red glow and his eyes were yellow. He looked at me a smiled revealing the filed teeth in all their glory. He said but a single word, read. I awoke with the inescapable urge to read the tome. On the way to the basement to read I stopped to look at the painting. It has changed more and now looks like a clearing in the woods. 

After spending the rest of the night reading I have uncovered all of the secrets of the spell. I could now cast Call A_______. I don’t think I would ever want to cast this spell, but I could. I decided to make this entry then turn in.

4-15-1921
I slept most of the day, and feel that this is what my weary mind needed. I feel that my grasp on reality is beginning to return to its old state.

At the dump the chain has been ripped off of the gate. There are human, cloven and paw like footprints all over the place. But the animal prints seem to be something walking on two legs. Entering the clearing we found the night before we say the shadow of a large man at the other end of the clearing. Three men, if you could call them that, stepped into the light. Two of the three were about 6’ tall. One of them was well over 7’ tall. The two shorter ones appeared human, rotting like the dead and smelling the part but human. The very tall one was not human in the least. He looked like an evil version of Pan.

The one in the center introduces the three of them a Magellan, Gallows and Kahn (the big one). Magellan freely admits to killing Gretch. These beasts live by eating the flesh of the dead. They will kill if needs be, but they prefer to simply eat the dead. Apparently Gretch was putting some sort of poison into the dead bodies that has been killing them and their children. The police are in on this, which is why he did not want me to bring them. They want my help. Kahn wants to eat me. As we are preparing to go, 19 others show up, all cloven hoofed and not human. They begin to close in on us but Magellan and Kahn held them back so we could get out. Magellan promised to be in touch. I asked him not to bring his friends.

In the truck Bill informed us that those things were Ghouls. They live off of the flesh of the dead. They are generally considered a mythological beast. This is undoubtedly the first time humans have seen them and lived to tell the tale in recent times.

I believe that Casey, Lager and Winslow are the reason for the ghouls existence. However in a book found in Casey’s office we came across a passage that stated “The ghouls have been poisoned and soon should be deceased. This will allow us to use their layers and tunnels to our own means. The crawling chaos will manifest under the feet of the ignorant.” Apparently those fools were going to cast this spell. 

The picture has changed more. The center is the Lager’s back yard. To the left is the cemetery where our town founder, Jacob Stroud, is buried and to the right is the back of Casey’s house. 

The book from Casey’s study reveals the phone numbers of Reaper, Sonneillon and Belial. Maybe from this we can find their real names, and hope they are not already dead.


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