'The Strangeness of Hezekiah Mason' - chpt 1

[Mr. Handy]

"We should douse our lights," suggests Anne. "We don't want to draw attention to ourselves, and the darkness shouldn't interfere with the digging. I wonder if our erstwhile visitor caused that fire. That is the direction of Hezekiah Mason's house, but the house itself is miles from there. It could have been intended as a distraction."

OOC,I never did get an answer to my questions about the disk.

[Priest]

Anne,My apologies forgot to reply; Three difficult questions, however I’ll do my best to provide answers. [b]1) Who originally made it?[/b] Difficult to tell, but it looks as though it might be of European design (English or French) possibly dating from the early 18th Century. [b]2) Who were the previous owners?[/b] There is nothing to tell you, no marks other than the strange design. [b]3) What purpose does it serve?[/b] Again there is nothing to provide you with an answer. From its shape it could have been some form of salver, though its size and the strange pattern would seem to dismiss its use as such. It is far too large to have been some form of amulet, unless of course its purpose had been ritualistic which the pattern would seem to suggest. Overall, there are elements of the Kabbalahaic tree of life in the pattern, but something is a little odd the image looks right but the strange overlay of letters (if that’s what they are) is definitely not Kabbalahaic, Hebrew, or Aramaic. The ‘letters’, three of them each one superimposed yet entwined with the others, are composed of strange angular marks which you have never seen before, even in some of the most obscure and ancient texts you have looked at. They seem to blur and move as if alive and in constant motion. It makes you think of looking through a microscope at some bacteria.

[Supercape]

Harry Blake scratched his beard, lost in thought at the mysterious lights and symbols. It had an arcane feel to it, by his estimation. Not that he believed in that sort of thing. That sort of thing belonged in the pages of his pulp, not in real life. But still...

At least he didn't have to dig.

"As unpalatable as darkness is, when faced with the mysteries of the night, it is quite preferable to being caught grave robbing. Which is, on reflection, actually what we are doing. Even if by moral consensus, I doubt the eyes of the Law would take kindly to our endeavour.." he commented.

"And besides, we appear to have illumination from yonder" he added, gesturing at the distant red glow. "Which is adds yet more unease. For there is nothing there too burn..."

"Whilst I dislike firearms, right now I would quite like the comfort of a sidearm!" he blurted. "But a shovel and firmness of spirit will have to suffice. Let us open the coffin and be done with it!"

[Mr. Handy]

Anne nods, dousing her lantern. "The sooner we finish, the sooner we can be out of this place," she says. "The disk looks to be early eighteenth century, most likely of English or French manufacture. Though the diagram does have Kabbalistic elements from the Tree of Life, there is something different about it. The lettering isn't Hebrew or Aramaic, as one might expect. They're like nothing I've ever seen before, and they seem to move. It does seem to have a ritualistic purpose, but beyond that I couldn't say. Perhaps there is a clue in Hezekiah Mason's writings somewhere."

[Grognardsw]

Rebecca Conners, reporter

"That disk is proof that Mason's stories were real," claims Rebecca. "The symbology is reminescent of that found in his The Dread That Came to Innsport."

"That better not be Mason's house burning down!" exclaims the Rebecca at the distant light, as Anne's lantern extinguishes and darkness returns.

She watches intently as Tommy keeps digging and strikes wood. "You've reached it!"

[Priest]

CLUNK! Tommys spade strikes wood.

[carnage_lee]

Tommy Stone

Tommy works quickly to clear the top of the coffin from any earth and then digs along the sides to get to the handles. "OK.. let me have that rope."

Tommy measures and cuts four lengths from the coil, looping each piece through a handle and tying off with a couple of overhand knots. He then gives each rope a pull to make sure they're all secure. "Right... take these.." he says and passes up the ropes, two per side and then scrambles out of the freshly opened grave.

"Take the strain..." he says picking up one rope.. "Come on, all together now.." the ropes creak and with a wet squelching sound the coffin starts to lift.

[Priest]

With a reluctant sucking noise, the coffin breaks free of the suction of the grave and rises, suprisingly easy, into the darkness of the night...

[Supercape]

Harry took a few steps back and stumbled to his knees, muddying his threads.

"No! No! Don't let it go!" he yelled, and tried to cling onto the rising coffin as it ascended. For all his lack of strength, his impressive stomach would at least mean that he would be effective ballast.

[Mr. Handy]

"It feels rather light," says Anne as she holds the rope. Even with her meager strength, she had no problem helping to haul up the coffin. "That does suggest that in fact Hezekiah Mason's body is not inside, lending credence to the theory that he yet lives."

[Grognardsw]

Rebecca helps haul the coffin up. She's too skittish to be the one to actually open it.

[carnage_lee]

Tommy Stone

Tommy nods in agreement at Anne's comments and looks on with disbelief as the fat author almost wrecks the manoeuvre with his clumsiness. "Steady on there.. watch your footing." he says, perhaps a bit belatedly.

Tommy thinking:   This coffin is suspiciously light though but I thought that there was an open casket at the under-takers prior to the funeral itself? That's the information that I had.. so if that's the case then there was a bosy in the coffin prior to the internment...

With Harry's aid Tommy manages to get the coffin slid across the wet ground and away from the impromptu excavation.

"Well, that's that part done... now Sister why don't you do the honours and open it up?"

[Priest]

As he speaks Tommy gances upwards, even in the darkness he can see that the nun has disapeared. He looks around who is still here?

[carnage_lee]

Tommy Stone

"What the..." Tommy exclaims, where has she gone? "Where did the nun go?" he asks, wondering if this is all a trap... he looked about... were the others concerned? Was it his revelation about the marks he saw etched into hat pew in the Church?

[Grognardsw]

Rebecca looks around. She's not too concerned about the Sister, but asks,

"Harry, where'd the nun go?"

Then, to Tommy, "Well, you going to open it?"

Rebecca looks at the coffin with her flashlights to see if it has any strange writing on it like the disc. She spots writhing letters.

"Look!" She points. Then the over-anxious reporter realizes with embarrassment that it is only squirming earthworms, not letters.

[Mr. Handy]

Anne looks around as well. "Perhaps she went back to the church," she suggests. "I'm not sure where else she might have gone, but she can't have gone far." She bends down to examine the worms, then looks away in disgust. "Why would there even be worms there, if there's no body inside?"

[carnage_lee]

Tommy Stone

"Perhaps she did... but why? She was all in favour of our impromptu exhumation practically giving us the 'go ahead' and then she ups and runs off... smells fishy to me."

"Just worms... in the earth." he says, using the spade to clear the top of the coffin from soil. "Well we're in this up to our necks, might as well get it finidhed with. Tommy tries to find the mechanism for opening the lid ...

OOC:   Does that count as 'poking around'? If so.. Poke around (Roll+Luck) [dice]0[/dice]

[Priest]

OOC:   The lid of the casket seems to be fastened by means of a simple screwed locking plate, there are four screws to be removed allowing the opening of the plate and then letting the casket's top to be opened on hinges to the left hand side.

Tommy,As you study the locking device you note that where each screw is sunk into the plate a series of letters have been written in a spiral around the screw head.

[Papa Gateau]

Sister Frances Mary slips quietly away as the others watch Tommy continue the excavation.

She heads back to the church, taking a seat on the rear most pew.

[ic-think],the image on the disc, I've seen it before, where was it now? Think dear! The vatican - it has been long years since I was there? Hmm, I don't think so...maybe the bishop's library. Yes, that seems to ring bells.

What were we discussing, why do I know this symbol?[/ic-think] she ponders in thought, recalling her last few discussions with the bishop. Finally the answer clarifies in her head.

Of course she says quietly to herself It was on his desk, the book was open on his desk and the page had this symbol on it. She smiles to herself in congratulation.

[ic-think],And after he closed the book and returned it to the shelf, in the section devotes to the occult and he then instructed me to come here. To dig up a man and find an artefact that would signify a pact with the devil. Well I think we may have found what I am seeking[/ic-think]

She gets up, genuflects to the likeness of Our lord and Saviour and starts back outside before recalling that one of them had mentioned seeing the same symbol on a pew.

She turns back and starts examining them - looking for the likeness.

[Priest]

Sister Mary Francis,You may try a[b] Poke Around[/b] roll, dice (2d6)+Luck. [b]On a 10+[/b], select 1 of the following: Find 1 good item (Keeper’s choice) 1 minor item (your choice) 1 clue (+1ongoing when acted upon) or pick one from 7-9 table. [b]On a 7–9[/b], you may: Find hidden area/threshold (in/out) (Keeper’s Choice) Find minor item (Keeper’s choice) Determine a physical hazard present (if none, you find that out) [b]On a 6-[/b], your fate is in my hands.