An Inner Call - Part 1

🗓️ Starting Date: Saturday May 28, 1921 🕑 Time: ~1:30 PM In the afternoon Reverend Grainger informs his landlady, Mrs Moffat, that Teddy is very probably dead, caught in the accident at The Langham. Since Teddy is only paid up until the end of the week on Sunday, she agrees to open up his room if Teddy isn’t back by Sunday evening. She understands that the Reverend and Teddy were friends. Mrs Moffat asks if there is anyone that needs to be informed. The Reverend has recollections of Teddy having a sister in his home town, and indicates he will take on the responsibility of informing the sister. Sunday, May 29, 1921 A quiet day overall - church attendance, John arranges for Alfie to get some mechanical training so he can help look after the cars, the party lunch and spend the afternoon together. When the Reverend returns home on Sunday evening Mrs Moffat opens up Teddy’s room and the Reverend puts Teddy’s possessions (except his clothes) in a footlocker. Mrs Moffat will dispose of the clothing in some way later (she donates it to the poor). Monday, May 30, 1921 Alfie starts his mechanic lessons with Parker. The first step is for Alfie to learn to drive, so he’s able to run a car after maintenance and check it’s working! The basic lessons are done on an imported Model T Ford. John does followups on some construction, his company, and hiring some archaic German translators. In the morning Grainger and Reed visit the British Museum, enquiring about a translator for Aramaic writing. They are directed to an office in the administrative area of the museum, and somewhat to their surprise they find the name “Margaret Wickersham” on the door. After knocking a few times to no response they try the door and find it unlocked. Inside the room are three desks - one larger, two smaller, each with a chair and desk lamp, covered with papers and piles of books. The room looks as if the occupants simply went home for the day. There are also lots of bookshelves, mostly academic volumes. After a quick search Everett stumbles over “A Grammar of Aramaic Inscriptions” by Joseph A Fitzmeyer, and the pair decide to “borrow” the book, at least until the can meet with Dr Wickersham. At that moment both men are surprised to hear whispers, vaguely discerning the words “Help me. I can’t get back”, before everything goes back to normal. Around lunchtime Alfie goes to Camden Town to meet with Jeremy. Jeremy reports that he trailed Huston to a building marked “Home Office”. Jeremy is horrified to learn that the Home Office has coppers who aren’t even in uniforms, and vows to keep a wide birth. After learning more of Jeremy’s situation (he has a sister, he’s living rough) Alfie gives him a handful of change. Alfie is giving Jeremy a glimpse of opportunity! Alfie returns to John’s, but by the John and the Reverend had headed to St Albans to meet with Vernon Nowell. Grainger gave Nowell a rather sanitised version of the events at The Langham. - the cause of the accident was a gas leak or an earthquake (!!) - the artefact was destroyed - Teddy had died in the collapse Nowell was disappointed to discover that the artefact had (probably) been destroyed in the disaster at The Langham. He was also surprised that the Home Office would take any interest, and asked the gentleman to pass on any information they might obtain of the provenance of the artefact. Nowell gratefully accepted one of the drawings that Grainger had made of the inscriptions on the clay jar and said he would have someone look at a possible translation, but especially given the loss of the jar it wasn’t a high priority. On the drive back to John’s, Parker took them past The Langham. It still looked to be under surveillance, and hoardings were going up around the site. A quick look for an office to rent overlooking the site didn’t show anything obvious. Tuesday, May 31, 1921 It’s prison visit day for the Reverend. William, John and Alfie meet at the prison in Rotherhithe at 11am. The prison guards indicate Wasserman is unavailable for some reason, but has left instructions that the Reverend be taken to a meeting room and has provided a list of prisoners to meet with, at the Reverend’s discretion. Wasserman did not indicate that the Reverend would be accompanied, but after the Reverend agreed to take full responsibilities for his “assistants and stenographers” they were all let through. The first prisoner is a man called Simon. It’s not clear why Simon is a prisoner, but he comes in clutching a bible (and a short way into the discussion he tears out a page and begins chewing it). What follows is an earnest conversation about revelation, the soul, overlapping realms and transformation. Simon slides from fearful to enthusiastic, though it’s not always clear what Simon is precisely enthusiastic about! Various quotes from Simon (in no particular order): - “Wasserman said we buried the gods in our minds, and now they’re waking up. Reverend… what if he’s right?” - “He said… pain’s just the soul molting. Like we’re meant to come out different, after. Not better. Not… saved.” - “Freedom’s not your Jesus. Freedom’s choosing the monster you’ll become!” - “Do you dream of the same place? We all do. He said we would….If you dream it too… it means you’re changing.” - “Not blasphemy, Reverend. Revelation.” - Tell me what’s true. Please. I can’t tell anymore.” - You talk of salvation. He showed us transformation.” - “Dr. Wasserman said the veil between patient and godhood is tissue-thin.” - “The deep places remember. And when they rise, so do we.” - “We are not broken. We are unfinished.” - “He says we all have it inside us. The seed. The thing from before time.” The session ends with the players still at the prison, waiting for the next interview Wednesday, June 1, 1921 Reverend Grainger has [[Reverend Grainger’s Dream - Handout Version]] overnight. In the morning he receives an urgent telegram from [[Daphne Rutstein]] - Alfie and John go to Julie’s. After talking to her they’re convinced that she has the statue that his missing from Wasserman’s office. Alfie tries to convince her that she’ll feel better by returning it to get the theft off her conscience. When this failed, and after searching Wasserman’s apartment, Alfie knocked on the door to Julie’s apartment and there is a confrontation with her father. Julie became very agitated and revealed strange teethed maws on the palms of her hands. Her father recoiled in horror, much shouting ensued, and the the outcome was that Alfie left the apartment with the statue wrapped in cloth while the Lamarque family disintegrated in their wake. - The prison site has been locked down. There are rumours that this was done by the Home Office. The police are waiting for “the authorities” to arrive - Grainger, Reed and Daphne went to the prison. Entering the prison they confronted a scene of carnage - bodies of prisoners and guards scattered around, apparently after they killed each other. A few are exceptions - apparently rent apart by great force, and a few have what look like bite marks. Heading for Wasserman’s office they were pursued by a grotesque being with large slimy tentacles instead of limbs, greenish rubbery skin, and an amphibian face with seven snake-like tongues ending in suckers protruding from its mouth. Searching Wasserman’s office revealed some partially burned notes that seemed to describe a ritual of some kind (the Reverend has the notes now). Their time in the prison ended with the two men dragging Daphne’s unconscious body back to the entrance as they were pursued by the creature, which was shouting “Grainger!” - The two parties regrouped early in the afternoon. By then Daphne’s assistant, Ursula Grey, arrived with rumours that had been phoned in by Daphne’s street contacts. - A young man was seen fleeing the prison towards the waterfront - A night watchman on the north side of the river reported seeing a “man in rags wrapped in fog” walking into the river on the south side near the prison - John made his presence felt at one of the waterfront inns, but didn’t learn much. In fact, the locals seemed rather hostile