[CoC: HotOE] The Gift of Skin is revoked
2018-Jan-27, Saturday 09:28![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dorchadas
Dramatis Personae
After they read it, they noticed a scruffy man holding a sign that said "Mac Rat," and after a brief consultation, they approached him and told him that they were Mr. Mac Rat and yes, they were heading to 3 Brophy Lane, Islington. He loaded up their luggage and they all piled in and headed off. The cabbie was talkative, especially about the disappearances in the area, and the countess made polite conversation until they arrived at their destination, Makryat's Islington shop. The front door was locked, and after the professor searched the stoop and didn't find any spare keys, Yan walked around the back and, with a little effort, broke the lock and entered a rear storeroom. It was dim and dusty, but not obviously dangerous, and he walked to the front and let the rest of the investigators in. The shop was much the same as they remembered from two months previous, but disused. They turned on the lights and searched the front room, but found only Middle Eastern antiquities that, while genuine, had no occult function or power. After shoving a box in front of the door the made for the stairs, and the professor shown his flashlight at the ceiling...revealing a creature of flesh and bone, a twisted and misshapen devil, descending on them and snarling with the face of Beddows.
The countess began screaming at the top of her lungs as viscera splattered over Yan and Elena, burning them. The devil landed and hurled itself at Yan, who lashed out with his blackjack and hit it, smashing it into the wall and into a bloody ruin. As Yan and Elan ran up to wash off the ichor, the professor drew out the Mims Sahis and cut off the devil's head, then followed up the stairs.
In the office, the carpet had been rolled back and an intricate and subtly disturbing pattern had been carved into the floor. On the desk was a scroll, written in Arabic, that was obviously one of the Sedefkar Scrolls, and a note:
The professor, still dubious, called the British Museum and asked them about a rush translation of a scroll in a jumble of Arabic and Turkish. The man he spoke to said that it might be some time, perhaps a day, and no, the professor could not speak to him as he was very busy. After a little more discussion, the professor hung up and went back to the room where the others had assembled the Simulacrum. They began arguing again about the propriety of the ritual, about whether it was the real thing or not, and about how it worked. Eventually, Yan picked up the paper and began to chant. Elena and Rosaline joined in, and the professor listened with a white-knuckled hand on the Mims-Sahis as the chant continued. After a few sentences, Elena blinked and her body began to shimmer and warp, and then she collapsed, dead! Over her body, coalescing into existence, they saw the form of Mehmet Makryat, skinless and hideous, with worms writhing in his flesh.
Rosaline demanded to know where the ritual was, and Makryat laughed, saying that the ritual was in the room all along and the transcription was a trap. The countess inched toward Mr. Bowman, but the professor asked him what he planned to do now, and with a laugh, Makryat called out, "You will see! Master! Skinless One! To me!"
He rushed at the party. Rosaline shot him with her rifle, but while she shot him, it didn't seem to have much effect. The countess ushered Mr. Bowman into the next room as Makryat rushed in and Rosaline hit him with her rifle. Yan rushed in with a knife, slicing away, and the professor fired but missed. The countess picked up a piece of the simulacrum and swung at Makryat, but missed. Yan and Makryat traded blows, and Makryat's claws ripped into Makryat, downing him. The professor dashed in and administered first aid while Rosaline and the countess rained blows on Makryat. Yan pulled out his revolver and fired, and the professor moved to attack and was slashed instead.
With that, the Skinless One arrived.
A giant man, with an eye in the middle of his forehead, skinless and gigantic. An aura of power surrounded it, and the investigators felt their skin itch. The countess collapsed on the floor and began wandering aimless around the room, and Rosaline collapsed to the floor, and Yan began frantically looking around. Only the professor was unaffected as Makryat screamed at the Skinless One to destroy the investigators.
None wears the Simulacrum.
Makryat began frantically grabbing the Simulacrum pieces and trying to put it on while the professor walked over to the countess, who was still holding the arm. She looked at the professor peacefully and said, "Flowers, for me?" The professor smiled at her, said, "You will have all the flowers you want," took the arm, and hurled it at the Skinless One.
The usurper is unworthy. My gift is sundered.
Makryat died immediately, collapsing like a doll with its strings cut, as the Skinless One snapped the arm in half. As Rosaline awoke, the professor picked up the leg and threw it as well, and they cooperated to throw the rest of the Simulacrum. As the Skinless One grabbed the head, faces flashes across it. Makryat, Professor Smith, Le Comte, Selim Makryat, Beddows, and all of their faces, before dispersing into dust. The Skinless One looked around and sunk into the floor, leaving a swirling vortex behind it. The dust of the Simulacrum was pulled into the vortex, as was the remaining scroll, and though the professor grabbed after it, even the Mims Sahis. The vortex closed, the room returned to normal, and it was finally over.
After taking Mr. Bowman to the hospital, the group dispersed almost immediately, traumatized over their experiences. Rosaline returned to America and her shop and finally married her fiancé, Yan returned to his wife and child (and lover), and the professor took the countess with him back to France. After arranging the finest sanitarium care for the countess, he resigned from his professorship at the Sorbonne and retired to his estate. He sent for books from shops far across the world, studying occult lore and things even more obscure. He spent long nights pouring over ancient tomes, brushing up on his Latin and Greek and Arabic, while his children worried about him and his old scholastic colleagues fell out of contact, until one night he vanished. He was never found, but his bequest kept the countess in excellent care for months until she too disappeared, from a locked room under observation by orderlies.
And finally, on a train platform outside the town of Ulthar beyond the river Skai, that quaint and curious city where no man may kill a cat, the two of them were reunited.
Poor countess lost 70 SAN and only had 38 or so.
schoolpsychnerd kept saying that the professor and the countess should get married if we both survived, and if we had I was planning a more tragic ending where the professor disappeared one night and went off to become a cult leader and continue the cycle of worshippers of the Great Old Ones. But since the tragedy had already occurred, I wanted to find a happy ending. I had already told ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mutantur several times over the course of the game that the professor spent time at night trying to find his way back into the Dreamlands, and I knew that Henri's Dreamlands Express was a place of healing and that the professor knew that Henri himself proved that it was possible for people to live on in the Dreamlands after death. So while his descendants probably have stories about mad grand-père Luc who vanished and was never seen again, he and the countess work on the Dreamlands Express together with Henri in a place where their old sorrows can no longer touch them. It's actually a better ending than they would have gotten otherwise, I think.
Normally I'd post my thoughts about the whole game, but we're not done! The re-release of the campaign adds an additional post-game scenario set in 2013, so we're going to take a brief break while I run a DELTA GREEN interlude and then play that game, and then I'll finally have played through all of Horror on the Orient Express! But for now, I'll leave the professor and the countess to their happiness.
- Elena Costanza, British Agent of the Crown
- Luc Durand, French Professor of Linguistics
- Rosaline St. Clair, American Antiquities Dealer
- Valentina Durnovo, Russian Countess/Gentlewoman
- Yan Nikolaev, Bulgarian police inspector
After they read it, they noticed a scruffy man holding a sign that said "Mac Rat," and after a brief consultation, they approached him and told him that they were Mr. Mac Rat and yes, they were heading to 3 Brophy Lane, Islington. He loaded up their luggage and they all piled in and headed off. The cabbie was talkative, especially about the disappearances in the area, and the countess made polite conversation until they arrived at their destination, Makryat's Islington shop. The front door was locked, and after the professor searched the stoop and didn't find any spare keys, Yan walked around the back and, with a little effort, broke the lock and entered a rear storeroom. It was dim and dusty, but not obviously dangerous, and he walked to the front and let the rest of the investigators in. The shop was much the same as they remembered from two months previous, but disused. They turned on the lights and searched the front room, but found only Middle Eastern antiquities that, while genuine, had no occult function or power. After shoving a box in front of the door the made for the stairs, and the professor shown his flashlight at the ceiling...revealing a creature of flesh and bone, a twisted and misshapen devil, descending on them and snarling with the face of Beddows.
The countess began screaming at the top of her lungs as viscera splattered over Yan and Elena, burning them. The devil landed and hurled itself at Yan, who lashed out with his blackjack and hit it, smashing it into the wall and into a bloody ruin. As Yan and Elan ran up to wash off the ichor, the professor drew out the Mims Sahis and cut off the devil's head, then followed up the stairs.
In the office, the carpet had been rolled back and an intricate and subtly disturbing pattern had been carved into the floor. On the desk was a scroll, written in Arabic, that was obviously one of the Sedefkar Scrolls, and a note:
Master, as you suggested, the scroll must be present.Next to that was another sheet, in English, what seemed to be a phonetic transcription of some sort of ritual. The professor immediately argued that this was too convenient, while Rosaline said that Makryat might need a little help, and they were still arguing when Yan said, "Who are you?" The professor and Rosaline approached and found a man, with a symbol carved in his forehead, shivering in a closet. He was unresponsive to anyone's entreaties, and when Yan pulled out his wallet and handed it to the countess, she read the name of Arthur Bowman, the missing schoolmaster.
The professor, still dubious, called the British Museum and asked them about a rush translation of a scroll in a jumble of Arabic and Turkish. The man he spoke to said that it might be some time, perhaps a day, and no, the professor could not speak to him as he was very busy. After a little more discussion, the professor hung up and went back to the room where the others had assembled the Simulacrum. They began arguing again about the propriety of the ritual, about whether it was the real thing or not, and about how it worked. Eventually, Yan picked up the paper and began to chant. Elena and Rosaline joined in, and the professor listened with a white-knuckled hand on the Mims-Sahis as the chant continued. After a few sentences, Elena blinked and her body began to shimmer and warp, and then she collapsed, dead! Over her body, coalescing into existence, they saw the form of Mehmet Makryat, skinless and hideous, with worms writhing in his flesh.
Rosaline demanded to know where the ritual was, and Makryat laughed, saying that the ritual was in the room all along and the transcription was a trap. The countess inched toward Mr. Bowman, but the professor asked him what he planned to do now, and with a laugh, Makryat called out, "You will see! Master! Skinless One! To me!"
He rushed at the party. Rosaline shot him with her rifle, but while she shot him, it didn't seem to have much effect. The countess ushered Mr. Bowman into the next room as Makryat rushed in and Rosaline hit him with her rifle. Yan rushed in with a knife, slicing away, and the professor fired but missed. The countess picked up a piece of the simulacrum and swung at Makryat, but missed. Yan and Makryat traded blows, and Makryat's claws ripped into Makryat, downing him. The professor dashed in and administered first aid while Rosaline and the countess rained blows on Makryat. Yan pulled out his revolver and fired, and the professor moved to attack and was slashed instead.
With that, the Skinless One arrived.
A giant man, with an eye in the middle of his forehead, skinless and gigantic. An aura of power surrounded it, and the investigators felt their skin itch. The countess collapsed on the floor and began wandering aimless around the room, and Rosaline collapsed to the floor, and Yan began frantically looking around. Only the professor was unaffected as Makryat screamed at the Skinless One to destroy the investigators.
None wears the Simulacrum.
Makryat began frantically grabbing the Simulacrum pieces and trying to put it on while the professor walked over to the countess, who was still holding the arm. She looked at the professor peacefully and said, "Flowers, for me?" The professor smiled at her, said, "You will have all the flowers you want," took the arm, and hurled it at the Skinless One.
The usurper is unworthy. My gift is sundered.
Makryat died immediately, collapsing like a doll with its strings cut, as the Skinless One snapped the arm in half. As Rosaline awoke, the professor picked up the leg and threw it as well, and they cooperated to throw the rest of the Simulacrum. As the Skinless One grabbed the head, faces flashes across it. Makryat, Professor Smith, Le Comte, Selim Makryat, Beddows, and all of their faces, before dispersing into dust. The Skinless One looked around and sunk into the floor, leaving a swirling vortex behind it. The dust of the Simulacrum was pulled into the vortex, as was the remaining scroll, and though the professor grabbed after it, even the Mims Sahis. The vortex closed, the room returned to normal, and it was finally over.
After taking Mr. Bowman to the hospital, the group dispersed almost immediately, traumatized over their experiences. Rosaline returned to America and her shop and finally married her fiancé, Yan returned to his wife and child (and lover), and the professor took the countess with him back to France. After arranging the finest sanitarium care for the countess, he resigned from his professorship at the Sorbonne and retired to his estate. He sent for books from shops far across the world, studying occult lore and things even more obscure. He spent long nights pouring over ancient tomes, brushing up on his Latin and Greek and Arabic, while his children worried about him and his old scholastic colleagues fell out of contact, until one night he vanished. He was never found, but his bequest kept the countess in excellent care for months until she too disappeared, from a locked room under observation by orderlies.
And finally, on a train platform outside the town of Ulthar beyond the river Skai, that quaint and curious city where no man may kill a cat, the two of them were reunited.
Annals of the FallenI'm glad that at the end, I kept the professor's habit of staring down beings of incredible potency that started with the undead sorcerer in the Dreamlands. Thanks to the Mythos hardening he underwent last session, he only lost 4 SAN when seeing the Skinless One rather than 8 and so kept the presence of mind to throw the arm of the Simulacrum.
- Gianni Abbadelli, Italian Vatican Parapsychologist, arm torn off by čudovište in Vinkovci, February 8th, 1923.
- Demir Sadik, Turkish Revolutionary/Field Medic, devoured by the living lair of the Baba Yaga in the forests outside Orašac, February 13th, 1923.
- Jazmina Moric, Croat Linguist, killed by a thrown grenade during a battle with the Butchers at Sofiiski Universet, February 15th, 1923.
- Radovan Venclovic, Romani Ex-Soldier, driven to madness by the beast of flesh in the cemetery at Üsküdar, February 20th, 1923.
- Elena Costanza, British Agent of the Crown, killed by Mehmet Makryat while performing the false ritual in Islington, February 23rd, 1923.
- Valentina Durnovo, Russian Countess/Gentlewoman, driven to madness by the Skinless One in Makryat's shop in Islington, February 23rd, 1923.
Poor countess lost 70 SAN and only had 38 or so.
schoolpsychnerd kept saying that the professor and the countess should get married if we both survived, and if we had I was planning a more tragic ending where the professor disappeared one night and went off to become a cult leader and continue the cycle of worshippers of the Great Old Ones. But since the tragedy had already occurred, I wanted to find a happy ending. I had already told mutantur several times over the course of the game that the professor spent time at night trying to find his way back into the Dreamlands, and I knew that Henri's Dreamlands Express was a place of healing and that the professor knew that Henri himself proved that it was possible for people to live on in the Dreamlands after death. So while his descendants probably have stories about mad grand-père Luc who vanished and was never seen again, he and the countess work on the Dreamlands Express together with Henri in a place where their old sorrows can no longer touch them. It's actually a better ending than they would have gotten otherwise, I think. Normally I'd post my thoughts about the whole game, but we're not done! The re-release of the campaign adds an additional post-game scenario set in 2013, so we're going to take a brief break while I run a DELTA GREEN interlude and then play that game, and then I'll finally have played through all of Horror on the Orient Express! But for now, I'll leave the professor and the countess to their happiness.
