THE MASQUE OF NYARLATHOTEP
EPISODE 1
Vyones, Auvergne, FranceSunday, April 19, 1517
Giuseppe de Milan crept through the darkened workshop, which was illuminated only by the faint starlight and moonlight filtering in through the window. This pleased him, as darkness was his friend. He did not even carry a candle, but he had excellent night vision and was sure he would find what he sought. Besides, the crystal was said to glow with an unnatural green light, which would be even harder to miss in the blackness. He merely glanced at a painting in progress on an easel, unable to truly appreciate it given the lack of light. An odd contraption whose purpose he couldn't even begin to fathom was in the center of the room. Beyond that stood a suit of armor, a halberd clutched in its elaborate steel gauntlets. All of these things were no doubt valuable, but they suffered from one great drawback: they were much too large to steal. It mattered not to him; he already had a buyer who would pay handsomely for the crystal, enough money to keep him in style for the rest of his life. Of course, he had no idea how short the rest of his life would be.
Giuseppe slipped up to the large oak desk beside the suit of armor. There were papers on top of it with indecipherable writing, but it was the drawers that drew his interest. Opening the bottom one, he found a small puzzle box of about the right size. Certain that the object of his quest lay inside, he worked on the puzzle box silently until he was able to find a solution. The box slid open, revealing the crystal within, glowing a sickly pale green. He removed it from the container, lifting it up to admire it in the moonlight. The crystal crackled in his hand, bolts of lightning surging from it to strike the suit of armor. He turned to look at it, and the halberd came down between his shoulder blades! He didn't even have time to scream. His corpse fell to the floor, as dark and lifeless as the crystal he still clutched...