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Trial of Cthulhu RPG: Bookhounds of London
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| Morgoth | Date: Wednesday, 01-Aug-2018, 12:27:08 | Message # 1 |
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Bookhounds of London: The Book of Yig! :|: Scene 1: Introduction
 Having spent the past months within these hospital walls trying to recover from my recent ordeal, I still can’t seem to escape the dread which befell me in the quiet town of Montsale. A non-descript place, east of London but a few hours away, which harboured an evil the likes I had never seen before, and never wished to see again!
It all started months ago when, during an auction at Christie's of London for a book I had sought out, did I first engage with my soon-to-be benefactor, Colonel Edward Wooleridge. With my limited funds, he easily outbid me and all within the room, but on his way out recognised my Uncle Jonesy. Introducing me to the Colonel was the start of my journey. He explained he was in a hurry, but we should meet up sometime, to discuss his recent purchase; “Gladly, Sir, I can make myself available at your earliest request!” We exchanged cards and went our separate ways.
About a month later and I finally received an invite to a soirée: “A meeting of minds for those interested in the unknown”, the card simply read; from the Colonel. I was eager to attend and hired a cab for the night, should I partake a drink or too, as usual.
As I arrived, so did others. We were ushered into a rather large (and very private, by the looks of things!) library, where we all introduced ourselves to each other … Jack Hunter, Lawrence Hives and a Charlie Robinson. All very different characters from around London, but with a shared interest in the unknown, which was becoming all the rage in 1930’s London. “Well gentlemen, before we have our dinner, let me explain why I’ve called you here tonight. As you can see from my collection, books are my passion and I want to start looking for ancient and rare ones which shall awaken the minds of all of us here!” Sipping on the very best of wines, we listened intently. “I propose we gather all the books and knowledge we have to this library, that all shall have access too, to form a “Bookhounds of London” club!”
The idea was intriguing and weighted greatly in our favour, for the Colonel already had a very extensive collection that we could only add insignificant pieces too. “I’m too old now to seek out further books on Them", he remarked, “but my research on each of you shows you have enough talent to be our hounds. I have enough resources and finances to cover your findings, should you come across any books of lore …” He went on in length about what he hoped to find and with our help, share in everything. For me, as an archaeologist, this was ideal to have such a rich benefactor and I instantly began looking through the many titles in his library, but ether being too drunk or excited, didn’t find anything of immediate interest. We went through to dinner and the night passed all too quickly. Before long, we were all on our way home, with a new focus in life … “The Bookhounds of London! I liked it!”
Not expecting to hear from the Col for a few weeks, I was very surprised at a telegram on my doorstep a few days later: ~: Come immediately! :~, it simply read. Jumping into the car, I took off to the Colonels at speed, and entering the house, the other investigators where also there. “I’ve been robbed!” His face confused and angry, “… one of my rarest books of lore has been stolen and I need you to retrieve it from those who stole it!”
Not strangers to such dastardly tactics, we all began asking questions about when and where and was anyone under suspicion within his household? Where any windows broken or doors broken down? “No”, came the answer to all. Jack, who I later discovered was a London detective, then searched the main doors for tampering, and quickly discovered one had been lock-picked! As we questioned more, the butler remembered a Mr Cooper looking to gain access to the Colonels library, looking for the same book that was stolen. In our business, there was no such thing as coincidences! With the knowledge of where the Colonel originally bought the book, we took Jacks car to see if he could shed any light on this stranger.
End of Scene One: An Introduction!
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"The thing's hollow .. it goes on forever .. and .. oh my God! ... it's full of stars!"
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| zellak | Date: Wednesday, 01-Aug-2018, 14:42:35 | Message # 2 |
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Nice work Walts !
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Message edited by zellak - Wednesday, 01-Aug-2018, 14:43:01
DEMON : " When next we meet, i shall tear you limb from limb...there will be no escape. "
Hero: " You bring balloon animals and i'll hire a clown..... we can make it a regular party. "
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| Morgoth | Date: Wednesday, 01-Aug-2018, 16:17:06 | Message # 3 |
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THANKS! 
Scene Two coming next ("A Quiet Place"); watch this space! ... Walts
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"The thing's hollow .. it goes on forever .. and .. oh my God! ... it's full of stars!"
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| Che | Date: Wednesday, 01-Aug-2018, 19:41:12 | Message # 4 |
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Nice one guvnor. It's just like I remember it. You toffs can tell a good tale.
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Message edited by Che - Wednesday, 01-Aug-2018, 19:42:13
Wargamers like to paint their privates!!
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| Morgoth | Date: Tuesday, 07-Aug-2018, 20:51:04 | Message # 5 |
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Bookhounds of London: The Book of Yig! :|: Scene 2: A Quiet Place
Soon outside the bookstore, we met Abdul; aka “The Persian”, as he was known to all. A store of many books; but also trinkets, artifacts, and too much junk for the amateurs eye!
“Welcome gentlemen, welcome to Abdul’s shop of oriental curiosities and wonders of the world!” He spoke with a slang-dialect uncommon to London, but who knew what nationality he was! We all nodded in acknowledgement and split up to get a feel for the place, whilst Jack (I think it was? Much has become a haze and confused with the many drugs I induce on a daily basis in this hospital!) approached the man. Having years of experience in dealing with the dregs of London, he soon had Abdul talking about Mr Cooper, and soon realised that the need to exchange cash on some basis would only shift his tongue to what we actually wanted to hear. Some joined the conversation to help out, offering to buy odd trinkets that had caught their eye.
 “Ah, yes, I remember Mr Cooper very well. He has bought many fine things here. I believe he lives in Montsale; only a few hours drive from London?” Having bought odd things to ease Abdul's reluctance to help, his clue to where to head next was just what we needed to pursue the suspected thief. “A quiet place”, he nodded, “...yes, Mr Cooper said it was a very quiet place.” Thanking him for his help, and a lot poorer for the experience, we left and headed back to the Colonels, arranging to meet-up later that day with our travel cases and head off to the small hamlet in the country, when we knew the way.
Back at the Colonels, we gave him all the information we had gathered. He agreed with our plan to proceed and helped prepare our little expedition with a little side-arm, a rifle; “Just in case you come against any trouble?” I took leave of the group and wandered into the street to have a smoke.
As I took in the area, a strange bedraggled man passed, who I paid no attention too until he grabbed my arm! With a dark and glazed look in his eyes, he shouted wildly, “Tigers two tigers two, beware the tigers two!” He caught me off-guard, and before I could react, had released his grip and moved on … “Drunken fool; what strange riff-raff we have in London.”
Returning to the group, we gathered our things and crammed into Jacks car, along with the Colonels rifle in the boot. We estimated the journey would take 3 hours with the clear daylight, but a couple of hours on the road, grey clouds made the journey arduous, especially travelling along country lanes. As a strange darkness surrounded us, my first (horrifying!) experience of what we were about to encounter came in the guise of a scarecrow!?! As I gazed out the back window, one caught my eye, and for some reason, in the darkness, its head and gaze followed me??? “Stop, stop the car,” I shouted! Jack slammed on the breaks and I explained what happened. We approached the scarecrow carefully, which transformed into a large black-skinned snake before our eyes, as large as a man … and attacked! I stood my ground, unsheathing my hidden blade, whilst the others all ran away or hid in the car. The snake soon overpowered me and crushing me, I cried out for help, to no avail! My comrades had deserted me and I began to lose consciousness as death took me … only to awaken in the back of the car, flaying about like a madman! “LJ, wake up! You’re having a bad dream!” With sweat running down my forehead, I spoke of the nightmare I had; which was so vivid, it tainted my sanity for the rest of the journey.
The grey sky’s and darkness where gone and we soon came upon the hamlet of Montsale. It was indeed a quiet place!
End of Scene Two: A Quiet Place!
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"The thing's hollow .. it goes on forever .. and .. oh my God! ... it's full of stars!"
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| zellak | Date: Wednesday, 08-Aug-2018, 08:34:06 | Message # 6 |
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Loving your work Walts !
Though you missed the part where Laurence Hives ( NPC ) discovered a black wand with a cats head ( or did it discover him ? ) ....and LJ bought a puzzlebox.
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Message edited by zellak - Wednesday, 08-Aug-2018, 08:39:03
DEMON : " When next we meet, i shall tear you limb from limb...there will be no escape. "
Hero: " You bring balloon animals and i'll hire a clown..... we can make it a regular party. "
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| Che | Date: Wednesday, 08-Aug-2018, 13:11:36 | Message # 7 |
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Yeah! I agree with zellak - keep it up, Walts and good on ya! 
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Wargamers like to paint their privates!!
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| Morgoth | Date: Wednesday, 08-Aug-2018, 16:15:13 | Message # 8 |
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Thanks chaps!
To be honest, I do the write-ups to help remind me of what's
actually happened in the last sessions!
See u on the flip-side soon!!!
Walts
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"The thing's hollow .. it goes on forever .. and .. oh my God! ... it's full of stars!"
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| Che | Date: Thursday, 09-Aug-2018, 14:20:24 | Message # 9 |
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I want to give you a rep upgrade, but you don't seem to have a rep. Is that because you're an administrator, or am I as thick as I think I am? 
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Wargamers like to paint their privates!!
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| Morgoth | Date: Thursday, 09-Aug-2018, 16:09:03 | Message # 10 |
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Yeah, I've disabled reps for admins, soz... Walts
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| zellak | Date: Thursday, 09-Aug-2018, 22:06:25 | Message # 11 |
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I was going to do the same....so we are both just as thick.
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DEMON : " When next we meet, i shall tear you limb from limb...there will be no escape. "
Hero: " You bring balloon animals and i'll hire a clown..... we can make it a regular party. "
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| Morgoth | Date: Tuesday, 14-Aug-2018, 11:42:03 | Message # 12 |
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Bookhounds of London: The Book of Yig! :|: Scene 3: Tigers Two!
Entering the small hamlet, we passed a post office, a row of old houses and cottages, with the church and graveyard the largest imposing building in the middle. We stopped for a minute to observe it, and then headed off towards an inn we could see up the road. Nothing stood out of the ordinary. The inn keeper and wife where friendly enough and happy for the business. A few locals sat in the bar area, supping on beers, as we ordered some late diner and drinks for ourselves. I, myself, had a couple of extra whiskeys to steady my nerves, before heading out for some fresh air.
After a short while, the night began to encroach, and I decided to have a closer view of the church. Not really sure what to find, I walked round the building, looking for demonic or ancient signs, but it was just like every other church in the south of England. Deciding not to pass through the graveyard, I made my way back to the inn, noticing some house lights on in the distance; “Most likely a farmers place?”
Back at the inn, and my room, we all gathered to discuss what to do next. An investigation by others on Mr Cooper had him down as a helper for the Lawson family, who lived in a manor on the outskirts of the hamlet. Five brothers in all, the local land owners, from a family that have been here since the 17th century. Some of us would go to the church and others the post office to do some more digging … tomorrow. It had been a long day for me, and I slept deeply thanks to the drink, and blade I held closely to my chest!
 The following morning we headed out. The church doors where open. Inside were the priest, tidying things up and setting up for the day’s chores. We explained we where writers, and such, doing cover stories on the churches of England. Jack and Lawrence asked if they could visit the catacombs to take notes and make some etchings, which the priest was reluctant to allow. “They have been sealed for some time, I’m afraid.” I walked round the various walls, taking notes on the architecture, doing odd sketches as was my habit, all the time looking for hidden doors and clues to the churches origins. We gathered little from this expedition, so Jack headed off to the post office, whilst others went elsewhere to seek insight to the area.
A few hours later, back at the inn, Jack returned with good news to confirm Mr Cooper was indeed an employee of the land owner. It was getting late and we called it another day, looking to get a glimpse of Mr Lawson at church tomorrow, whilst others investigate the mansion.
Early Sunday, we sat outside eating breakfast. The inn keeper pointed out Mr Lawson going to church, so we followed soon behind as Jack and Charlie headed north towards the manor. Our few hours in church where quiet, with only a small number of people attending. The other party had more luck with visiting the manor house, letting us know that there was something very wrong with the place. Having been chased off the premises by the staff wielding a shotgun and with the maid lying badly, we decided to investigate the place more closely when the night fell. “We need to get inside to see if the book has been hidden somewhere in the building, and see if Mr Cooper can be found!”
Whiling the hours away in the inn on cards, drinks and food, the night soon came. We drove to the manor house, parking off the track in case any traffic passed, and walked a short distance to the gates. Here I stood shocked; two large gate posts each with a large tiger on top. The stranger’s words came back like a flash … “Tigers two tigers two, beware the tigers two!” A warning, by one that had marked this place before we knew off it!?!?!
The gates where locked, but where soon broken open. As we approached the building, odd lights on in the building gave away nothing. Peering through the lower windows, we could see odd book shelves and empty rooms, but there was little sign of life in the large property? As we squabbled about getting in, the sound of a car at the back could be heard! We quickly ran round, to see it speed of and head south, just as the night clouds began to shift and form into a strange vortex? The darkness of the night intensified and as the car sped by, I caught a glimpse of a women in the back … a red-haired women who I had seen before!?!?! In a dream, or nightmare, I couldn’t remember!!!
End of Scene Three: Tigers Two!
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"The thing's hollow .. it goes on forever .. and .. oh my God! ... it's full of stars!"
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| Morgoth | Date: Tuesday, 14-Aug-2018, 11:46:12 | Message # 13 |
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Bookhounds of London: The Book of Yig! :|: Final Scene: The Cultists of Yig!
“Let’s go”, shouted Jack, “their trying to get away!” We dashed back to the hidden car, watching the lights of the fleeing car all the time. The twisting country roads slowed them down and Jack was an excellent driver. With dimmed lights, Jack kept a good distance as to not give ourselves away, but they seemed to pay little attention towards us. After a few slip ups, we eventually came to a halt, close to a seafront cliff which had standing stones upon it. The night sky and strange  forming clouds made for ominous surroundings, but we had to proceed to get our book back! It took us a short time to approach the group, who had now lit the stones with strange candles, where shimmering shadows seemed to come alive. They stood around the stones, clocked and hidden, but I pointed towards one … “The book!” He had it open and was reading from it, whilst the girl lay across one of the ancient stones and the rest chanted in an abominable tongue. Luckily, I had brought the Colonels gun, a big-game hunter’s bore, made for killing elephants!
The chanting became increasingly louder as the clouds blackened. Lightning struck near the stones as Jack pulled his pistol out. “Shoot Jack”, I called, “whatever he’s reading will be the death of us, SHOOT!!!” But we were too late. Jacks aim was true as he wounded the leader, who dropped the book, but the lightning struck the girl, and with a blinding flash, she transformed into some kind of serpent-humanoid! The others revealed themselves as snake-men as well!! The mere sight of these vile abominations torn at our sanity, but I wasn’t hanging about for introductions and aimed towards the vile she-spawn, and with only a short distance between us, blasted a hole right through her! She slumped to the floor, but the other snake-men pulled strange pistols and weapons from under their cloaks. A melee ensued between us, with a cricket bat, fists, and whatever was at hand let loose! It’s all a blur now, but we stood our ground as they fell, one running off into the blackened night. Lawrence picked up one of the strange weapons as I took the book and made my way back to the car; “Let the local authorities deal with this mess!”
We headed back to the inn and locked ourselves in one of the rooms. Who knew if others were involved in these foul cultist group activities? It was a sleepless night as I clung to the book like a mad man. With the first light, we packed and fled the area, paying what we owed as we dashed to the car, making top-speed for London!
Back at the Colonels, we recited as much as we could remember, returning the book to its rightful owner. Sipping on the colonels strong brandy, reading from its pages, which was written in a very ancient Byzantine-dialect script I could just decipher, I explained to the others what had transpired from "The Book of Yig"… A calling and sacrifice to an ancient evil far beyond our realms of understanding. Of other universes, where death and sacrifice to ancient gods was still practiced. The readings affected us all differently, but we knew this was the start to an occult understanding our minds would never recover from!
End of the Final Scene: The Cultists of Yig!
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"The thing's hollow .. it goes on forever .. and .. oh my God! ... it's full of stars!"
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| zellak | Date: Tuesday, 14-Aug-2018, 19:19:33 | Message # 14 |
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Awesome Walts !
Next episode LJ reveals the secret of the puzzlebox.
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Message edited by zellak - Tuesday, 14-Aug-2018, 19:21:19
DEMON : " When next we meet, i shall tear you limb from limb...there will be no escape. "
Hero: " You bring balloon animals and i'll hire a clown..... we can make it a regular party. "
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| Che | Date: Tuesday, 14-Aug-2018, 20:11:04 | Message # 15 |
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Can't wait. You'll need to take notes or bring a secretary, Walts! Added (14-Aug-2018, 8:13 PM)
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Quote Morgoth (  ) Yeah, I've disabled reps for admins, soz... Walts
Consider your rep up by several points then, ya scallywag!
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Wargamers like to paint their privates!!
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| Morgoth | Date: Wednesday, 15-Aug-2018, 09:46:49 | Message # 16 |
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Thanks guys! 
Obviously, I've gotten odd things wrong and mixed-up, but poor LJ did have a horrific time and
being in the psychiatric hospital isn't helping him nether!
Walts
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"The thing's hollow .. it goes on forever .. and .. oh my God! ... it's full of stars!"
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| zellak | Date: Monday, 25-Mar-2019, 09:37:15 | Message # 17 |
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This coming Sunday, the secret of the puzzlebox revealed. Added (31-Mar-2019, 5:08 PM)
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Next game is Sunday the 26th May 2019
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DEMON : " When next we meet, i shall tear you limb from limb...there will be no escape. "
Hero: " You bring balloon animals and i'll hire a clown..... we can make it a regular party. "
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