IC-Chapter 1-Holy Holy(Father Levington/Harry Sawyer)

[Mr. Handy]

Nathaniel recalled that Brian Anderson had been arrested for dealing drugs - among other charges - and that he had mentioned that when he was arrested, he was selling LSD to a young man named Harry who had recently started showing up at Lenny's Bar. He had also said that the drug Morpheus, which he had stolen from his father and kept in a thermos in his backpack, had been confiscated by the police.

[TheAlchemist]

"That rings a bell," Levington said. "Doe the name Morpheus mean anything to you?"

[Mr. Handy]

"Morpheus..." said Harry, thinking. "Sorry, never heard of it. Is it a new band? That would be a really groovy name!"

[TheAlchemist]

Levington smiled.

"No, not a band name. But I think I might actually have run into you before. Do you happen live in Philadelphia? I think I've met some work associates of yours, Sergeant Rawlings and Lieutenant Yeager?"

[Mr. Handy]

"Yes, that's right!" said Harry. "I work with them. How do you know them?"

[TheAlchemist]

"That's a little complicated." Levington thought for a moment. "I'm guessing you also know who Brian Anderson is?"

[Mr. Handy]

"Yeah, he's the guy we arrested," said Harry. "That thermos was in his backpack."

[TheAlchemist]

"Okay, well, the day you arrested him, Brian came to talk to me. I'm a priest with St. Christopher's Church. When he was arrested he asked me to come see him. From talking to him, I believe you drank some sort of experimental drug." Levington glanced at the officer. "Don't worry nothing illegal. Anyway, after talking to him and some of your work associates I went home to sleep and wound up here."

"This must be real, its too consistent to just be a dream. I wonder if we'll remember any of this when we wake up."

[Mr. Handy]

"How can it be real?" asked Harry. "People can't share the same dream. But what you said explains so much about what's going on. You must be my subcontractor, trying to tell me what's happening to me, and that's why you took the form of a priest. You couldn't possibly be real. Er, no offense, Father."

"Subcontractor?" said Snookums. "Don't you mean subconscious?"

"Yeah, that's it. That's what Amy would call it. She's a policeman I work with. Uh, policewoman...person."

[TheAlchemist]

"If anybody is a figment of somebody else's imagination, its you buddy." Levington said smiling. "I know I'm real."

He patted the young man on the shoulder to assure him that he was just kidding around.

"But I suppose there isn't really any reason to worry about whether this is real. If this is just a dream, then its just a dream. I'll have to come looking for you when I wake up provided I remember."

[Mr. Handy]

Harry Sawyer gave a lopsided smile. "Yeah, I'll have to look you up too," he said.

"You mentioned the name Morpheus earlier," said Snookums to Father Levington. "I do recall hearing it before. There's someone by that name who lives somewhere in these lands. He's one of the Great Ones, and he has his own domain, but none are allowed to enter save his own kind. He has two monsters guarding the gates to his lands, and they can take the form of anyone's greatest fears. They can found near Kadath, in the cold northern wastelands."

[TheAlchemist]

"Great Ones?" Levington asked.

[Mr. Handy]

"Yes, the gods of the earth," explained Snookums. "There are several of them that rule in these lands, like Oukranos the river-god, and Nath-Horthath, who rules the city of Celephais. Morpheus and his father Hypnos live in the far north."

[TheAlchemist]

Levington grunted.

"What do you mean by gods of the earth?"

[Mr. Handy]

"That's what they're called," said Snookums, making a gesture that was as close an approximation to a shrug as a cat could make. "They wield power in these lands, over their own domains. Oukranos rules over the river, and Nath-Hornath has Celephais, as I said. Hypnos holds sway over his own realm in frozen Kadath, in the far north. If you're thinking of journeying there, it is a long and dangerous trip, and he goes to great lengths to keep intruders out. Though they do have some power in this world, it is limited. I get the feeling that they're not really the ones running the show, if you catch my meaning."

[TheAlchemist]

Levington looked thoughtful.

"Sorry for asking so many questions, but this is all so strange to me. It seems important too, though I don't know in what way."

[Mr. Handy]

"No, that's okay," said Snookums. "Like I said, I enjoy meeting new people and showing them around. Shall we continue our journey to the vaults of Zin and the graveyard of the gugs? Or...would you rather go on an expedition to Kadath? It's a long and perilous journey, but I'm willing if you are. We'd have to pass through the hostile Plateau of Leng, home to terrible spiders that eat human flesh and the Men of Leng, who can be dangerous in their own right. And even if we survived the trip, gaining entry to the realm of Hypnos and Morpheus would be extremely difficult. Few can face their greatest fears."

Harry gulped. "A walk through a graveyard sounds much more my speed than that," he said.

[TheAlchemist]

"Yeah," said Levington. "I'd vote for the graveyard too."

[Mr. Handy]

"That's good," said Snookums. "A voyage to Kadath would be extremely dangerous, and not the sort of thing you want to do on your first visit to these lands. You might not have a second one. The graveyard should be fine, as long as we stay above ground. The gugs are fearsome, but they can't come up to the surface. Let's go."

Snookums led the way through the woods to the south, and Father Levington and Harry followed him. It was early afternoon before they caught sight of the edge of the graveyard.

OOC,Father Levington, roll Luck.

[TheAlchemist]

I've got a bad feeling about this, Levington said.