Khitan’s Diary part 12: Rinaldo – Excommunications – Hall of Mirrors – Rebellion

In The Doom that Came to Amber

28^th Bull 3658

The next morning Aylwin said that he had researched a version of the Elder Sign. We compared notes and Aylwin’s version was different from mine but did indeed seem to be a genuine version. There were elements of the same pattern on both inscriptions and some of these matched the broken Pattern which I had walked (in my own way).

I guessed that the most powerful Elder Sign would be a copy of the Pattern which resides by the dungeons of Amber.

It occurred to me that perhaps the parts of the Elder Sign which were not from the Pattern when put together would form some other kind of Pattern but my initial experiments along this line seemed to show no alternative Pattern taking shape. For a moment I had thought that such a discovery might indicate another Pattern interfering with the Amberite Pattern in such a way as to weaken its ability to hold the Outer Gods sealed away. Perhaps I shall do more experiments on this later?

Aylwin led us onwards and the journey was shorter than I had expected. Possibly he used some kind of magic to bring us so far so quickly.

I asked him to bring us to a halt just out of sight of the Abbey, but he must have not known the terrain too well as we stopped just in sight of a battered old tower. We moved into the shade of some trees.

I summoned the Interstitial Pattern and used it to feel around the surroundings of the Abbey. I was initially shocked to detect some tentacles underground, but I was relieved to discover that they were only earthworms. I was further relieved to discover that the area was not teeming with monsters as I had imagined. Some figures moved around the neighbourhood but I was too nervous to try and investigate them magically.

I indicated to Aylwin that I thought we would be safe to move at least slightly closer and to check the situation out visually.

Advancing on horseback, we were relieved to see that the forms moving around were actually just peasants who seemed to have set up a camp in the ruins of the Abbey. But what a camp! We rode up to the old buildings and entered through the wall of the Abbey.

Inside was the most dismal and depressing camp I have ever seen. Even worse than the retreat from Abu Abbas, and that’s saying something. Bones and rubbish were strewn everywhere and the inhabitants were in a state of depressed torpor, shambling back and forth from stewpot to ditch whilst mumbling vague mockeries of the vilest of black ritual.

I heard the semblance of certain Mythos words being uttered… A shiver ran down my spine. For a moment I thought I saw a mother throw her baby into a stewpot, but I think I must have imagined it only.

I felt torn between trying to help these people and to kill them. Perhaps the latter would have been a kindness?

My first concern was to prepare a way to escape and I sought out the old symbol I had made previously, which I could use to fashion a magical escape route. However, when I turned to seek this I felt some vileness nearby and, turning towards the old chapel, I saw the figure of a youngish boy emerge. He spoke to us in a golden voice.

I looked at him with my magic sight. I noticed that he was mightily stronger than I, almost infinitely so. I also noticed that Aylwin had great powers that were beyond my own.

With a jolt of horror I recognised the boy. Nyarlathotep!

He seemed curious to know what we were doing there. I just hoped he would go away. I wandered around looking for the symbol, but it had been erased. He asked us if there was anything we wanted and I said that we would prefer to be left alone.

He told us that he was the intermediary of the Outer Gods, created to act between their realm and ours. He said that the Outer Gods were seeking to break out of their imprisonment and to annihilate the realms that we know, returning all existence to utter chaos, or at least their own warped version of that.

He did not want this to come to pass, as it would mean that he was no longer required and his own annihilation would surely follow.

He also wanted to know the name of someone. It took me a while to realise that he meant Alaric. Unfortunately however I did consider the name he wanted and, with his great powers, I feared that he may have snatched the name from my mind. I could not tell whether he wanted to make Alaric a friend or an enemy. With Nyarlathotep it is normally best to ignore everything he says as he is only trying to lead you astray.

Faced with this power we decided to leave. He told us before we left that he had some Hounds of Tyndalos nearby, ready for action; and also that there was something worth examining at the site of a broken caravan a mile or so away.

As we left I examined the neighbourhood more carefully and noticed that there were three rifts in reality that needed repairing. One in the subterranean cellar where the Abbot had transformed himself and where I summoned the Manticore, and two outside where some Mythos creatures had been summoned. The portal in the basement was large and open. The two others smaller and more or less closed.

Nyarlathotep had told us that the portal in the basement was under his control and that that was why vast hordes of Mythos creatures had not come flooding through.

We visited the caravan where I found a deck of magic cards. I thought to hide it on my person but, as I had agreed to come and help Aylwin on his mission, I decided to show it to him. He was very interested, as was I, and we spent possibly an hour studying the cards.

I spread them out on the ground for Aylwin to look at as he was loath to touch them, fearing that they might contain some vile enchantment of Nyarlathotep. This was a wise decision but I had not thought of it. I do not think the magic was of Mythos nature. It is well known, though, that gifts of this nature are to be avoided.

That night we considered our war plan and decided that we needed reinforcements. We managed to enlist Bathsheba to our cause and also showed the deck of cards to the Prophet. Who commended us on our work! Praise be! I realise that we have much preparation to do and so I start to inform Bathsheba of the range of threats that we may have to face.

While she considers what I have said I retire to my chambers to cast some further spells.