The Journal of Dr Jo Laine: episode 02

A character in Shadows over Arkham, a classic Cthulhu campaign set in Lovecraft Country

Eve. Monday 7^th November, 1927

Following a tip that the vagrant Doc is hiding out at the old Hill Top burying ground, we head up there and arrive as darkness is falling.

The old cemetery has obviously fallen out of use and is very overgrown and neglected. Aware that Doc will be scared after the fireball attack we split up. The least apparently threatening members of the party (the women and Father Sam) go into the centre and search for Doc amongst the undergrowth. Arthur, Jeremiah and Prof Peters circle the perimeter in case of emergency.

In the centre we hear a man chuckle and a grating sound. We shine the torch in that direction which causes alarm, rustling and thumping like someone trying to avoid us. We find a large man by a small fire. We ask if he wants food and he agrees eagerly, so we talk to him whilst Father Sam returns to the car for the food we packed for him earlier.

We ask him about the children at the school and about any suspicious vehicles seen near the gates. He said he had seen the green car and identified the driver as the 'Painter man'. He also claimed to see Billy getting into the car. On Father Sam's return, he happily accepts food and a blanket. I feel that this man can be reclaimed from his retreat and that his apparent simplicity is a front to hide him from harsh reality but I cannot get through to him. Doc also claims that he told the police about the painter but was later attacked and his living crate reduced to ash.

· Is this a coincidence and an unconnected act of cruelty or are unfriendly folk aware that Doc is a potential witness?

· Is information from the police leaking to criminals involved in the disappearances of these children?

If an artist is involved in the disappearances somehow, we decide that the easiest way to find artists is in the more Bohemian side of life in Kingsport.

Late on, after our adventures in the graveyard, Jeremiah and Arthur (as those with most experience of the alcohol trade) head to the docks to look for a local speakeasy or other drinking den. All appears quiet and our friends struggle to find any signs of life or activity. A child in the street draws their attention and appears to be acting as a lookout. The men follow the child into a house, following sound of music playing.

After entering the house, the door slams behind them and the music disappears. The house feels deserted with a thick layer of dust on the floor. The men traverse two corridors which strangely feel far longer than the apparent width of the house would suggest.

Looking for a way out, Arthur and Jeremiah head to what at first sight appears to be a kitchen but is oddly a bedroom when they enter it. They see a chained figure on the bed, and the bed clothes are bloody. There is also a hooded figure with a knife in the room, and as Arthur enters creatures making a strange buzzing sound start crawling from under the bed. These creatures attack Arthur who shoots at the hooded man, whilst Jeremiah stands in the doorway and fires Arty’s second gun at the creatures, torn between the desire to help his friend and a wish not to let the trap close.

As the creatures engulf the men, both wake up abruptly to discover that they had been dreaming. Jeremiah feels shaken by the experience. Arthur is shocked to find that neither of his two guns have been fired.

Tuesday 8^th November, 1927

In the morning, Jo Laine finally made contact with Mrs Wolff, the music teacher who had travelled between the two schools. Mrs Wolff said that both Billy and Leslie were artistic. Billy was a musician. When asked about friendships she said he had friends at a bookshop in Ward Street. Mrs Wolff expressed the fear that Leslie was star struck and could easily have been led astray by the idea of bright lights and the theatre. She also told Jo that the police were asking people about a handkerchief and other items.

Working from another art-related angle, Mary Lou contacts an artistic friend and expresses a desire to buy art. The friend advises that her timing is off, since most artists are only active in the area during the summer months. However, she is advised that local artists who are still around are Elizabeth Brundridge and David Rosen, an artist at the university.

David Rosen shows a picture that is vaguely classical in appearance to others, and definitely Hyperborean to Professor Peters. The artist looks drawn and has lost weight. He talks of something resolving itself by Christmas.

Arthur Kinross goes looking for a speakeasy. He finds a pub with a blacked out sign call the Rope and Anchor, it is much easier to find in the daytime and he learns that even ‘illegal’ dens keep ‘normal licensing’ hours.

Arthur meets Jeremiah, Father Sam at Mary Lou’s for lunch. They discuss possible artists.

· Cytheria is associated with David Rosen, who has painted a couple of Elysian-style dreamscapes. He seems like a likely candidate, given the subject of his pictures. He is described as someone who was a good technician but not talented. At some point, he had a breakdown and spent time in Mexico and Arizona. Came back and produced the work called R'Lyeh, definitely a fantasy landscape.

· Ted Kovey – a big bear-like man who likes to drink when he’s not sculpting

· Jim Redmond was someone who paints pictures of nightmares.

· Another name comes up: Olsen Wittowski is a blonde writer. He is described as someone who used to be happy and debonair but has now suffered a change of mood to something much darker.

We hear that the next local exhibition is due on Saturday at the Mercer Art Gallery.