Episode 15 - Party Crashers - January 26, 2025

Cast of Characters

Present

Player	Character	Background
John	Keeper	Bringer of torment and delights
Todd	Lawrence “Skinny Larry” Simons	Inventor, saxophonist, and engineer
Eric	Father Gerald “Gentleman Jerry” O’Shea	Catholic priest, former bare-knuckles boxer
Eli	Dr. Kenneth Filmore	Wealthy medical doctor and neurosurgeon
Cyle	Aaron Winters	Occultist

Sleeping it Off

Player	Character	Background
Scott	Ritter Gunter “Stig” von Stiglitz	Former German POW

Journal

Saturday January 24, 1925

From the journal of Lawrence Simons

A few days after blowing the Juju House to smithereens, it was time to party. Yesterday, Jerry called Rebecca Shoshenberg to fill her in on our latest findings, and the fact that we’ve turned over evidence to police Lt. Poole that should prove Hilton Adams innocent of the crime he is imprisoned for.

We all got dressed in our finest, suitable for a society party at the Carlyle Mansion. I made sure to take the bank check with us. On arriving, that was my first order of business - really the only order of business. Erica decided she would agree to our offer, and so I handed over the check to Mr. Gray, the lawyer.

But just as Miss Carlyle opened the safe to hand over her brother’s books, intruders arrived! It was a tall black guy with a shaved head - the one we’ve been warned about - and two of his henchmen. We later learned the cultist brute is Mukunga M’Dari. He demanded the books, and Aaron drew a gun and ordered him to stay where he was.

As one might predict, the thugs did not follow orders, and a fight ensued. Billy clubs and firearms. Where is Gentleman Jerry, our ace-up-the-sleeve boxing champion? He was outside, but quickly responded at the sound of gunfire. During the melee, it became clear that this whole thing had been planned, and several members of the catering staff were actually hired thugs. We put down M’Dari, but his henchmen manhandled Miss Carlyle out the back door into the yard.

Jerry and Aaron pursued on foot, while I tried to formulate a quick response plan with the Carlyle security head, and Kenny got his doctor bag out of the car. It was clear we were going to need it.

By the time Kenny and I regrouped, the cultists had dragged Miss Carlyle down an unused path into the woods. I made a snap judgment to pursue by motor sleigh, because of course there was one in the stable. Aaron drove as best and fast as he could, while I readied a shotgun I took from a gun rack in the stable.

The Motor Sleigh

A mile or two into the woods, we found there was a clearing, and in the clearing was an altar. It then became clear the Cult of the Bloody Tongue planned to sacrifice Miss Erica Carlyle herself at the moment of the eclipse. They set all this up in advance! And there was the Bloody Tongue ringleader himself, the elderly Silas N’Kwame, proprietor of the Juju House (now defunct). There were also three more cultists dressed in Bloody Tongue attire, ready for the horrible ceremony.

Kenny and I rolled up on the motor sleigh at great speed. I shot one of the cultists with the shotgun, then rolled off into a snowbank, shouting to Kenny, “Ram speed!” He got the hint, and gunned the engine, heading straight for Silas. Unfortunately, his driving isn’t as good as his doctoring, and it was just a glancing blow that left the motor sleigh on its side and Kenny on the ground.

More fighting ensued. Jerry chopped off Silas’ hand, which caused the old man to pass out. But the cultists didn’t quit. They were still trying to tie Erica down and perform the ceremony. But once I shot one of them point blank with the shotgun, the rest ran off into the trees.

We saved Erica, and the two thugs were eventually picked up by the police. Needless to say, Erica was extremely grateful.

Over the next few days, she pulled a few high society strings to accelerate the review of the Adams’ case, and got him sprung from Sing Sing. And we got Roger’s books under better circumstances. This wrapped up many loose ends, and we felt a great sense of accomplishment.

Our next destination, we decided, will be England. We plan to follow in the footsteps of the original Carlyle Expedition, and see what clues we can find along the way that might explain what really happened. So we started to prepare to leave the United States for what will likely be several months. After England, we plan to go to Cairo, and then eventually to Kenya.

And that’s the end of the American chapter of our quest.

[Out of character: We got a total of 12 Sanity points back for all the things we accomplished. We’ll get more skill points later.]

Gentleman Jerry’s Conjectures and Musings

Today, we plan to (finally) attend Erica’s Eclipse Party. Our primary purpose is to buy those couple of rare books, dealing with topics best not mentioned in polite company, and to satisfy our suspicions that the event would prove to be a perfect site for a gruesome sacrifice.

These cosmic events, dates, and confluences make optimal times to create Zombies, I think.

We walked up the long, winding driveway to the mansion. After getting our bearings, I snuck out to get my pistol from the pool pump house. “Skinny” Larry wanted to complete the transaction, so he and Aaron met Erica and Bradley Gray in the library. Kenny stayed at the outdoor pavilion and watched a dozen little cannip … caniap … um, sandwiches vanish down my gullet.

We heard a gunshot and a crash, and knew the purchase wasn’t going smoothly. We leapt to our feet and dashed to the library, only to find Erica being dragged out a second door by a pair of caterers. A third tried to charge out right past us, but Kenny clotheslined him.

And, standing before Aaron was the muscular, shaved-headed African … Mukunga Midori, decked out in a Leopard Skin cloak. I saw him absorb what I was later told was a second bullet, still standing, so I wrapped my stout Rosary around my knuckles and pounded his nose. As he expired, I whispered, “Pleased to make your acquaintance at last, Mr Midori”.

Larry had spun the combination lock on the secret safe, and Gray had dashed off to get help. I pounded the clotheslined guy and put him out cold.

Aaron chased after the two caterers hauling Erica, and seemed to be favoring his ribs. No doubt Midori had hit him with his stout club.

I thought Aaron might enjoy a wee bit ‘o backup so I chased after him, but first I stripped the cloak off of the dead cultist. It would go nicely with Larry’s feathered cape. I donned it, on the run.

I passed Aaron squaring off with the odd caterer, so I passed them and entered a clearing, spying an axe in a stump to my right. As I veered to make it my own, this strange motorcycle roared up behind me, bearing Kenny and Larry. Larry took a shot … there were three or four cultists, and a wizened little fellow who must be… Silas.

Two of the caterers were trying to tie Erica to a rough altar, as Silas drew a curvy knife. Kenny drove that motorcycle thing right past Silas, spinning him around, disoriented. Then the cycle crashed, sending Kenny rolling up against a tree. Ouch.

I took the opportunity to chop off Silas’ dagger hand. As he collapsed, shrieking, spraying a crimson stream across the snow, dirt, and altar, I whispered, “Shame about the Ju-Ju house, Silas”.

Things went fast and grim, and in a few seconds, Silas and a caterer lay, expiring, and two others dashed off into the woods. Later, they would give themselves up.

We helped the shaken Erica back to the library, where she handed over the books. She also promised to add her substantive leverage to helping Hilton Adams go free. I had called Rebecca this morning to give her the heads-up concerning our efforts to free the soon-to-be-executed Hilton Adams. I hope she gets to publish a really good article.

Oh, and the Eclipse was spooky and pretty at the same time.

Next, off to London, I think; I need to pick up some handcuffs and a few books and maps for the trip.