Arkham

[kabukiman]

2 weeks latter:

The secretary was looking curious at the mercenaries that were waiting. Finally she received orders from the Dean and she said:
-The Dean and the other members of board are waiting for you: please, enter.

[Mr. Handy]

"Thank you," says Patrick. He stands up and goes where the secretary tells him to speak to the board.

[kabukiman]

You see a table where are 4 persons. One is the dean, 2 other were member of the expedition, and a fourth person you don't know and seem to be angry.
-Welcome. I'm satisfy that you would be here so quick. I have already ordered that the agreed sum to be transfer to your account. And now, we have another subject we would like to talk to you. About the city. The situation was in itself so strange that we cannot let the world know what hapened there. So we decide to, how should I say... hide some of the facts. We will say that the land is very dangerous, the earth is higly instable and full of bandits making impossible any safe excavation. The local authoraties have agreed to not send any permit for now. They don't know what happened, but they are not interested to get any bad publicity if there are casualties. To avoid any robbering, they will post some soldiers. It's far from perfect, but it should work. And if anyone try to explore the city itself... well, the temple is more than capable to protect itself- he says with a grim.
-I still think we should excavate the palce, all we would have to do was to avoid...- says the person who looked angry
-Out of the question. We were lucky that nobody got hurt. We don't know what other dangerous lurk there. And other mercenaries could appear there. But I was saying: we need your silence. The other people engaged in the expedition has agreed to not say what hapened.

[Mr. Handy]

"Even if I said anything, who would believe me?" says Patrick. "And I wouldn't exactly say nobody got hurt. Some of those mercs didn't make it. How are you going to make sure the surviving ones remain silent?"

[kabukiman]

-We aren't much worried about them. A lost city with a black shadow that kill men? It will be a new urban legend.

[Mr. Handy]

"Yeah, hopefully nobody will take them seriously," says Patrick. "They are criminals, after all. You could just say they're angling for an insanity defense if they tell what's there. But what's to be done about it other than isolating the place and making sure nobody goes there? Whatever is there remained there for thousands of years without harming anything, yes, but now that it's been disturbed it might venture forth."

[kabukiman]

-Well, after reading the books we have here, we discovered that the thing- is a guardian of the temple. As long as nobody enters, it will not leave it. If something hapen, well, some accident could simply bury everything.

[Mr. Handy]

"It looks like you've got everything under control then," says Patrick. "When we encountered whatever was in the temple, we ran away and were just fine. It didn't chase us or anything. The mercs probably did something stupid like shooting at it."

[kabukiman]

-Well, if it is all, I have already given the order to make the final payment. I thank you again for your help and your discretion.
With this, the Dean seems to make you understand that the meeting is over.

[Mr. Handy]

"You're welcome," says Patrick. "Please let us know if you have more work in the future." He shakes hands with the Dean and then leaves.

[kabukiman]

You are walking away the campus. The place is safe and secure, you hardly can believe this is the same world where there is a monster like the one you discovered some time ago.