Pickman’s Student: part 3

Extracts from the Personal Diaries of Dr Belinda Durham and Gloriana

Friday 29^th August, 2008

Belinda: After I'd woken her in the night by screaming, due to my nightmare of the graveyard and tomb, Eliza had tried to press a sleeping tablet on me, which I'd refused. I didn't want to have my sleep prolonged unnaturally and maybe find myself unable to escape from a similar situation. I managed to get back to sleep, and when I woke, she was gone. I took the opportunity to have a very good wash, enjoying a shower that washed away the last Northumbrian mud and then rummaged around her kitchen for breakfast. Eliza returned, having gone for a run and I recounted what I remembered of my nightmare to her. After that, we headed for Nelson Blake's flat.

The others were up and discussing how well they had slept. Barbara and Adam had passed a restful, dream-free night. However, like me, St John had a nightmare where he was led deeper and deeper into the fungus forest near the Underground Sea, seeing disturbing sights until he found a small glowing blue globe. This gave him a feeling of having accomplished something important so his dream had ended on a happier note. Adrian and Alex had managed to control their dreaming and spent the time in Celephais, although did not appear to have discovered anything more about ghouls or the paintings.

We talked about how to contact the ghouls. Barbara even phoned up M. Mecredie in Paris. He was charming and willing to teach some spells, but not any that were especially useful at the moment, and in any case he did not have a 'window in his diary' for some time. One way to contact ghouls is via a cemetery, but we did not know whether any random cemetery would do. We also had to be in the dreamlands to meet the right ghouls at the Underground Sea, so in the end we decided to see whether we could get hold of the painting 'Karl Marx is in Highgate cemetery' since it showed a Dreamlands cemetery. It was at Congress House in London, headquarters of the TUC. Adrian had already told us that the other two paintings of the Gadomon cycle, in addition to the one he owned ('Elder Yoggoth') and this one, were 'Fate' owned by Mrs Beryl Biggs, a wealthy widow living in Richmond and 'R'leyeh Rising' owned by Evelyn Bancroft who lived near Woking. The fifth was the unnamed and unfinished one of the edge of the Underground Sea near the Fungus Forest. While Adrian phoned about access to 'Karl Marx ..', I went out shopping in Reading. We'd remembered that possession of an ankh appeared to be important for protection when meeting ghouls, so I wanted one. I eventually found an 'alternative' shop that had some ankhs among its trinkets. I bought three because I wanted to ensure that I took at least one with me when I dreamt.

Of course, our objective was to remove Gadomon, or whatever was possessing poor Nelson Blake, back to where it came from. We'd already arranged to visit Tony Higginbottom, since despite being mad and dangerous he was the only expert on this area. I was the designated contact person since I'd spoken with him before. As we split up, Alex and Adrian headed for the TUC, Eliza for a shift at her hospital in Reading, and I, Adam and Barbara headed for the Wilmarth Facility. It was strange being back there again. I didn't find it as disturbing as when we'd first visited because I've now spent months there regaining myself. The smell and colour of the walls, and general décor were familiar and gave me a weird sense of going back to a school I'd once attended.

However, it was not pleasant to see Toby as he was wheeled into view while we watched on CCTV from another room. I don't know his history but to have to keep an intelligent man drugged up to the eyeballs was no way to reward a man who had presumably become like this in the service of his country. I think that Jimmy Wainwright's route was much preferable. They injected Toby with something and he came back to consciousness. I asked him if he knew anything about Gadomon, and he said something like, 'ah, the artificial god', and then looked rather calculating. He said that he would not tell us any more without a reward, such as less drugs so that he could dream. He also complained about bed sores. I phoned Marmaduke, who would not budge on Toby's drug regimen, although I did get him to agree that the staff should take care that he did not get bed sores. I told him that we had another approach to try to find out about Gadomon and ghouls to deal with the impending catastrophe, but that if we had to go back to ask for Toby's help later it would not be me doing the asking. I think he took it that I wouldn't, but what I meant was that I would not be able to because I'd be totally mad or dead! I though our idea to use the painting as a route to Gadomon was very risky.

The three of us drove off to Congress House, through the London traffic to Russell Square. Once we got there, with the reception desk readily directing us to a room where the painting had been propped up, I heard something about how we'd gained access to it as we, Alex and Adrian ate the pizza we'd brought with us. To summarise, it had been bought as part of a short-lived plan to add paintings to decorate the building. It was bought because of the apparently appropriate subject matter, but once they had the painter's authentication statement, explaining that it was ironic or satirical, it was immediately stored away. Alex had used a mixture of MI13 and his police connections to get a court order allowing us to view and 'test' it overnight 'in connection with an on-going investigation'. The painting itself was much more disturbing to see than the photos we'd viewed before. The central image was the bust erected on Karl Marx's grave, coloured red, and with trees and shrubs around it. I had the impression from the corner of my eye that there were things moving between the trees, but it was a static picture when I focused. There was something on the ground at the base of the statue – bouquets, a dog, leaves? We settled to sleep in the room, focusing to all get to this place in the Dreamlands. I was quite tired after last night's nightmare so I soon fell asleep.

Gloriana: I found myself alone in the darkening forest, walking on a path that led me to the Karl Marx bust. I quickly realised that there really was something moving among the trees and drew my rapier. As I neared the bust, I could see plainly that there was a man on the ground at its foot. He rose and it was obvious that he was a ghoul.

Of course, the thing to do with ghouls is to kill them before they kill you. However, I hesitate to attack because I remembered distantly that the reason why I was here was because the Dreamers wanted to talk with a particular ghoul. I wondered where they were. As I continued to hesitate, I heard footsteps behind me and turning, saw them. To my amazement they started to engage the ghoul in conversation. It turned out to call itself Karl Marx. Two other ghouls closed in on us, one calling itself the 35^th President of the United States and the other the Pearly King and Queen. They spoke quite openly about what was happening to Nelson Blake, that a god of the dreamlands was taking his soul to get into the waking world and once there would take R'leyah through and make the seas rise. However, quaintly, there was dissent among the ghouls; some wanted change, others wanted things to remain as they were.

Once all the Dreamers had arrive the three ghouls led us into a hole in the ground. I must say that I was not very happy about following the ghouls into their realm, but the dreamers were all agreeable to this. The ghouls kept making remarks such as how sweet we smelled, which made me stay alert. We finally emerged onto a mountainside in the Underworld. I have never been there before but the dusky glow of the sky fitted with what I have been told about the place. We walked up the mountainside and saw a ghoul outside a cave who was painting. The dreamers said excitedly among themselves that this must be Pickman, the ghoul they had come here to meet. Alex began to speak with him about Nelson Blake, and the ghoul said that it was over a century since he had last seen him, and who were we? The atmosphere was beginning to get a little tense, but then Adrian began to appraise the painting, saying that his work could be truly great if he polished his style and it was definitely that of Pickman. The ghoul began to relax and talked about painting and his difficulty in obtaining brushes. He invited us into his cave, which was decorated with gravestones of famous artists as well as paintings of the dreamlands and the waking world. Adam asked how some of the ghouls had acquired names and personalities and Pickman said that they had to go through a ritual to become able to think and have a personality. The name came from the person they dined on since they had to eat the brain. This explained the problem with the 35^th President, since his brain had been damaged.

Pickman finally asked after his protege, and this was the correct moment for Alex to appeal to his feelings for the youth. The law officer explained that Nelson had made artworks that gave access to the dreamlands and as a result had become very ill. He mentioned the Gadomon cycle that Nelson had tried to complete and Pickman began to explain about Gadomon. He was created by the Migo as the harbinger of the end time, and put into the ocean until mature. Then he would be able to enter the brain of someone in the waking world and bring both dreamlands and the world together in destruction. The dreamers tried to persuade Pickman that they wanted to stop Gadomon and to enlist his aid.

The artist ghoul said that he, and some other ghouls, like the Pearly King and Queen, were not in favour of reaching the end time since although they would dine very well for a few weeks, that would be the end and the ghouls would die out as well. Karl Marx was in favour of this destruction. Pickman agreed to get the Pearly King and Queen to lead us to the tomb of an ancient sorceress who had secret magic that protected her from the sea in return for assurance that we would help him to get into the waking world occasionally. I could see that they were caught in the need to prevent a greater evil as Adrian and Alex led the words of reassurance to the foul creature. Indeed, I could almost see Adrian considering the value of Pickman's paintings if he should be able to sell them. I most certainly did not give my word to such a depraved creature.

The Pearly King and Queen, to my surprise, was very worried about entering the grave-yard containing the sorceress' tomb. However, it led us deep into the ground and we walked through darkness for what seemed like days, becoming tired, hungry and thirsty. Finally we arrived and and went out into the pale light. The gravestones glittered in the silvery light as the metal and jewels that adorned them caught the light. To one side there was a low hill with a tomb on it, and even before the ghoul said anything, I knew that was where the sorceress lay and had a vision of the interior. I also had the strongest feeling that I should let my waking self, Belinda, emerge because she had special knowledge of this place.

Belinda: I suddenly found myself back in the graveyard of the my nightmare the previous day, viewing the tomb on the hill from among the gravestones at the base. Strangely, I did not feel fearful although I saw my companions around me and they were looking up at me in alarm. I spoke, and my voice was low and distorted. My body felt strange, and I looked down to see the hag from the nightmare; I was within her body! I tried to explain to them that it was I, and Alex was convinced but it became obvious that Barbara and St John were so horrified at the mere sight of me that they were unable to do anything. Adam tried to attend them.

I remembered what we were supposed to do, namely get spells from the tomb, presumably by taking the book. Alex, Adrian and I marched up the hill towards it. I rapidly got ahead of them and realised that not only was I taller and longer legged than any of them, but I was also stronger. It took no effort at all to reach the small door and then push it open and enter. I waited for Alex to enter as well, and then he went for the book. I had warned him to take care not to remove the lid off the tomb. This time the beautiful maiden in the tomb changed into my normal form, but was trapped inside as we retreated, Alex clutching the book. She managed to push the lid off and sat up. I was confused at seeing myself and wondered what I, or the sorceress, was about to do. Alex left the tomb, and I realised that she was chanting, quite unlike myself. Fearing that she was about to cast a spell, I left as well, and tried to push the door shut, since if she had only my normal strength she would be unable to open it.

I had almost managed to close it when I suddenly felt my legs, and then my whole body, turn to jelly and I flopped to the ground. I had a horrible feeling of total helplessness, and then I remembered something that was most certainly not helpless even though it lacked a skeleton. I felt myself come together and rise into a sphere as I adopted the form of a shoggoth! I rolled down the hill to get away from the sorceress and any further spells she might cast. All the others were, sensibly, already running towards the grave entrance. I followed them along making sure that I rolled fast enough to keep up, but was careful not to bump into them. There was a particularly tricky moment when St John decided to stop in the tunnel. I therefore had to stop as well since there was no way I could get round him, and the others ran on ahead. Fortunately, he soon regained his wind, or whatever, and we set off again.

We finally came out to the surface of the dreamlands in (what I later learnt was) the Accursed Valley at the foothills of Mount Ngrek, a few days travel from Port Bhana. In the daylight and away from the graveyard where I had revisited my nightmare, I thought it prudent to allow my other self, Gloriana, to re-emerge. A shoggoth will not be welcome to the homes of the dreamlands!

Gloriana: In the space of a moment, the graveyard had vanished and I was back on the surface of the dreamlands. I had the strongest feeling that it was essential that Belinda should never appear in the dreamlands again. The dreamers looked at me in surprise, but also were obviously tired and hungry. I was able to catch some game and broil it over a camp-fire. As the daylight faded, Adrian was engrossed in an ancient book that exuded a miasma of dangerous magic. It was Talia's Grimoire that he spent the next month and a half studying avidly. We walked to Port Bhana and then took ship for Celephais, being lucky enough to find a fast schooner that was sailing directly there.

Once we were in the beautiful city of Celephais, I spent time practicing my rapier skill and also trying to improve my aim with my guns. I also had leisure to meet with other Etrurians who were in the city and to see how King Kuranes governed in the absence of the great family houses that are such a feature of government in Etruria. I could see that his own personality was very important, and since those in the city did not age, he did not have the problem of most rulers who have to plan for a successor.

The dreamers said that we would have many weeks in the dreamlands, and that I would be the first to leave, so they began to remark on my appearance for breakfast each morning. Eventually a day arrived when I did not appear in Celephais.

Saturday 30^th August 2008

Belinda: We woke on the uncomfortable floor of Congress House and went from there to the MI13 offices. I remembered, vaguely, about my transformations in the dreamlands, that started when I tried to be myself rather than Gloriana. I don't think I'll try that again soon.

We learnt that during the night we spent in the dreamlands, Eliza had agreed to meet an ex-boyfriend who had become dangerously obsessed with her. As she crossed the hospital car-park to his car, she was attacked by several Deep Ones, and only just managed to stagger into the entrance to the hospital for medical attention, her lungs full of sea-water. Marmaduke was very worried at this, and especially by the way that the number of Deep Ones appeared to have increased rapidly.

Adrian and St John headed for Reading to see Nelson. Alex went to visit Eliza to see what sort of state she was in, and to fill her in on what we'd learnt from our visit to the dreamlands.