Masks of Nyarlathotep: Session 5

The party consisted of:

Lillian Fogg- Museum Curator

Lydia Lisbon- Drug Dealer using Photographer as a cover

Chomden Tsomo- Mountaineer

Curtis Flanagan- Author

Violet Adair- Dancer/Occultist

Warning: If you're planning on playing the campaign and not running it for others, you should stop reading now.

Lillian was awoken by a phone call from Carlton Ramsay, the lawyer in charge of Jackson Elias' estate. He contacted Lillian via the number he got from the police to let her know that Elias' funeral was being held on Monday the 17th and hoped she and the other investigators could make it, as there were issues he wished to discuss with them all. Lillian told him they would be there, and passed the info onto the others.

The start of their day was to go to Emerson Imports to see if Silas N'Kwane was there, as they found his name on the back of the company's business card amongst the other documents found with Elias. They found Emerson Imports along the Hudson River and after Lillian fought off the urge to jump into it due to her hydromania that started after the Peru incident, they entered the warehouse.

The inside was your standard warehouse setup, with an office up a staircase to overlook the entire space. On the door was painted "Arthur Emerson, Owner". They went in to find a dark-haired, middle-aged man sitting behind the desk. He asked if he could help them, and Violet took the lead asking if Silas N'Kwane was available. Emerson's eyes became slits and he asked who was looking for him. Violet tried to play coy but it did not work at all. She finally explained to Emerson that they were friends of Jackson Elias', and that they came here because of the card.

Emerson asked to see the card. They showed it to him, at which point he explained that N'Kwane was the owner of an African cultural art shop in Harlem. He was sure that Elias had wanted to find N'Kwane, and personally found N'Kwane made his very uneasy. Emerson had done some research and found that N'Kwane's supplier is a Mombasan international exporter named Ahja Singh. N'Kwane is Singh's sole account in the U.S. After sharing what information he had, Emerson said he'd see them at the funeral tomorrow.

After meeting with Emerson, the group decided to give Professor Cowles another try. Going back to NYU, they found Prof. Cowles' temporary office while he was visiting from Miskatonic. They mentioned that the flyer for his lecture last night was with Jackson, and wondered how he knew Elias. Professor Cowles said he only knew Jackson through his written work.  

When they asked the professor about his lecture the night before, and he was more than happy to discuss it. The lecture had been about similarities between the Cult of the Sand Bat, an ancient cult in Australia, and the Cult of the Bloody Tongue in Kenya. He told them of the myths of the Sand Bat and its battle against the Rainbow Snake that imprisoned it. In the course of him showing them various pictures and documents, they saw the mark of the Bloody Tongue. It was exactly like mark that had been carved in Elias' head.

Cowles also showed them some slides of an expeditionary force standing amongst ancient blocks of stone in the Outback. Cowles mentioned that one of the men was Arthur McWhirr who kept a journal of the expedition. Throughout the expedition there were records of attacks by Aboriginals. In McWhirr's journal he noted how some who had been killed suffered from hundreds of small punctures, reminiscent of the bat tooth-lined clubs the Cult of the Sand Bat members used. He didn't have the journal on hand, but offered that if the group were ever in Australia, he could connect them with his friend, Prof. David Dodge who was housesitting for him while he was abroad.

After visiting with the professor, the group decided it was time to see what they could find out about N'Kwane directly. The preliminary plan was just to case the Ju-Ju House and see how it was laid out. That was it. That was the plan. Get in. Get out. Couldn't go wrong.

Nope. Not at all.

Lydia and Curtis were going to be the casers. Lydia would go in first to check the place out some, but mostly to keep N'Kwane busy while Curtis got a better look.  The other three would be waiting at a nearby coffee shop waiting for them. 

The group maintained as low a profile as four white people and a Nepalese person could in Harlem during the day. Lydia entered the store first. The interior was wall to wall with a plethora of African artwork and idolatry. Behind the counter was a wizened old black man wearing traditional Masai garb. He immediately asked in Lydia was lost. She played up the part of the enthusiastic college girl to the hilt, asking N'Kwane about all the artwork in his shop, and he gave full and educational answers. 

Curtis came in a few minutes later while N'Kwane continued his spiel with Lydia. N'Kwane gave Curtis a concerned look when he entered, wondering if gentrification was coming to Harlem or some other possible horror, but continued his talk with Lydia. 

It was then that Lydia, really getting into her role, described the symbol of the Cult of the Bloody Tongue to N'Kwane and asked if he had anything with it on it.

N'Kwane's eyes narrowed to slits, any salesman's bon homie melting away. He told her that he most assuredly did not know what the symbol was, then abruptly excused himself to deal with some paperwork. Feeling that her role had come to an end, Lydia left the Ju-Ju House.

Curtis played up his part by buying an artifact that increased...um...vitality. N'Kwane, apparently not knowing that he and Lydia were in cahoots, made some bad innuendo, cackled his head off, wrapped Curtis' purchase and wish him a good day.

They regrouped at the coffee shop across the street from the Ju-Ju House, explaining the situation. They sat and kept eyes on the Ju-Ju House, waiting to see how N'Kwane would react. Eventually, N'Kwane came out, bundled in a large coat against the harsh snow, locked the door and started walking down the street. Chomden told the rest of the group she'd follow him and proceeded to track him at a distance. 

Chomden followed N'Kwane for a few blocks through Harlem until he came up to two other black men wearing African clothing of unknown region under heavy winter coats. They talked briefly, then all got into a nearby Roadster and drove off.

Chomden returned to the group and told them what she saw. There would be no way that they could get a car or taxi in any sort of time to catch up with them. Cutting their losses, they went back to Lillian's to prepare for their dear friend's funeral the next day...