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Jean-Paul and Chantal married, but it was soon discovered that Chantal was barren. The last three years had been continuous reconcilliation between them, since Jean-Paul's family was very interested in continuing the noble line.
Griswold managed to keep busy, but not very much so. His detective agency took a case about one every two months.
Russel had spent most of the last three years in a bottle. His business was suffering for it, and would soon collapse. He was a man with little left to live for.
George was stuck in Thursday afternoon. It wasn't that the calendars had
no other days; in fact, there were no calendars. It was quite a lot like
being trapped in a huge, beautiful, bountiful park where it felt like
Thursday afternoon all the time. A gigantic homo sapiens reservation. A
human-beingiterium.
The company of Rupert Merriweather quickly became sour.
Apparently, everyone here was a weapon for the forces of Light, and was
kept in this limbo until needed. There was no crime, no insanity, no
problems or worries in this limbo. Of course, there was also no ambition,
competitiveness, or excitement. Human beings were not the only
inhabitants, but you can only see a unicorn or a sixteen-foot-long
cockroach once or twice before it becomes commonplace.
When not faced with a crisis, Rupert turned out to be a real
weenie. He could see no reason to rebel against this inter-dimensional
imprisonment, and would not give George the answers she needed unless
threatened. Jeremiah, on the other hand, turned out to be exactly the same
as he seemed through the Ouija board--self-important, smug, aloof, and
possessing an annoying habit toward smirking. George had to get out.
George decided to go exploring. A river led her away from the
knoll on which she had sat for at least a week of Thursdays. Of course,
there was no "night" or "day", but George measured time by how many times
she had slept. While following the river, George discovered that she was
being followed. Determined to pursue the only course that led to any
excitement in this limbo, she tried to trap the tracker. Instead, he
jumped into the river, swam a while, then hopped onto a car-sized insect
and flew away.
George could feel the heat before she got to the edge of the
forest. Beyond the forest, a fifty-foot wall of flame rose; its flames so
hot that the river was vaporized on contact. She followed the wall
around--at a safe distance--until she found a great iron gate. The gate
was firmly locked, and continually glowed darkly red from the heat.
Overcome by heat and exertion, George collapsed, to be rescued by a
slightly familiar-looking man. He had been following George on Jeremiah's
orders. He had a startling ability to talk with animals, and demonstrated
it by giving George a ride on a grizzly bear-back to Jeremiah's tree
house.
Jeremiah was forced to run rather than give George the answers
she wanted. George had been trying to persuade Jeremiah with a stout
length of wood. It was revealed, however, that the mysterious tracker
would eventually be John Hunter, the man that George fell for in 2059.
Faced with all of this confusion, George chased down Jeremiah, and was in
turn chased by John and a strangely familiar chain-lightning phenomenon.
Dr. Christopher Pierce was well known for his expertise in
research. No icon would escape his scrutiny, no antique work of literature
was safe from his roving eyes. Dr. Pierce always welcomed the challenge
of an archeological dig--after all, why read books about antiquity when
you can write them?
They had gained access to the pyramid and almost fully
explored the maze of tunnels when Jean-Paul, Chantal, Russel, Griswold,
and Louis arrived. After a hurried exchange of information, they rushed to
the sarcophagus chamber. The sarcophagus, unlike most, was upright, and
did not feature a relief of the person interred. It was made entirely of
black marble, and had been cut like a gem. When they openned the
sarcophgus, none were really surprised to see George there, gasping for
breath and squinting in the light.
Louis told George that Nylarathotep had planned revenge
against the humans who had thwarted his scheme to bring about the
apocalypse. He had already killed Raphael, so they had to use an
alternate--Dr. Pierce. However, since George was not precisely dead, they
had had to bring her back. Only if they had a full group could they hope
to survive Nylarathotep's revenge.
The investigators discovered jars of the Dust of Ibnazi, the
same substance that they had used to dispell the beast years
ago at Rupert's farmhouse. Soon, they were set upon my Shaowwalkers, and
discovered that the dust had some effect on the monsters. Eventually,
they defeated the Shadowwalkers, and blew up the tunnels of the pyramid.
The former was only a dream. George awoke to find a very startled Dr. Pierce openning the sarcophagus. Only George had memories of the dream, though the other investigators did seem to have restless dreams the night before. And now, back to the real story. I promise.
Jean-Paul and Chantal married, and had two beautiful children. The first of
the children was born with violet-colored eyes. Jean-Paul's grandmother
took a great interest in the boy, and seems to have executed a man because
he made the child cry. A year later, the violet eyes had faded into a
more normal blue.
Jean-Paul's grandmother told him of their family's gypsy
heritage, and that she knew when she was going to die. The violet eyes
had always signified someone who could see beyond normal existence. In
the meantime, Chantal had been conducting correspondence with Louis Lewis,
but the flow of letters had ceased for some time. Chantal insisted that
she and Jean-Paul go to America to find out what was wrong.
Griswold was not miserable, per se, but things certainly weren't as exciting as the time he saved the world. He had not been able to even look at a dog since Phydeaux had turned out to be Nylarathotep. The last three years had been mainly spent learning french (from the cute madamoiselle one floor up from his office), and teaching himself to shoot his rifle and shotgun better. (Note: these activities definitely were not concurrent.) Every now and then, Jeremiah (via Ouija board) would give him word about George, but overall nothing seemed capable to break the shell of boredom until Griswold got an invitation to Louis' house in Pennsylvania.
Russel was doing really badly. Throught his life, he had seen himself as
the first and foremost authority and importance in his world. So it had
came as a particular blow when he discovered a partner in George. And
then, just as they were forming Russel's first true relationship, she was
taken away by two dead guys. Where there's a will, there's a way, and
where there is a copy of the Necronomicon, there is power.
Russel devised a way to summon an Eihort--a terrible
being of unspeakable power. Russel invited one of his employees on a
camping trip in the mountains. He had made sure that no one would miss
the young man, since he intended to sacrifice him to the
Eihort.
Everything went according to plan until the Eihort
actually arrived. The great god was not very cooperative, even after
offered the employee as a snack. When the Eihort tried to implant
its eggs in Russel, it discovered that Russel had already been claimed.
(*) Enraged, the Eihort
prophesised that Russel would cause the downfall of his friends, and
would never know the happiness that he sought. However, the god went on
to say that George would have been returned even without Russel's "help",
and that he should go meet with his Old World friends if he wanted to see
her.
Dr. Pierce had been conducting the dig for two months when he found George in the sarcophagus. The live, 30-ish looking woman that popped out of the 4000 year old tomb seemed to know a lot about the pyramid's layout, and showed Christopher that there wasn't much else to be found in this site. Christopher agreed to help get George back to America, where she hoped to find Griswold. She had forgotten what city Russel called home, and hoped Griswold would know, or be able to track him down.
Dr. Pierce told George to look him up if she happened to be in Boston, and George went to Trenton to look for Griswold. Griswold told her that he would be happy to help, but that he was going to Pennsylvania to visit with his cousin. George was ready to go and look for Russel herself, but Jeremiah (via Ouija board) told her that Russel would be going to Louis' as well.
Russel arrived by dirigible in Paris. While at the station, he spotted a strange man dressed in burnt-orange, monk-like robes. The man disappeared after being spotted. Russel would have investigated, but Jean-Paul and Chantal arrived just then. They all booked passage back to America. By strange cooincidence, all of the investigators checked into the same hotel in Rockwood, PA. Though Russel was feeling violently introverted, Jean-Paul persuaded him to open the door, and there Russel saw George. Despite some cracked ribs, their meeting was happy, and Russel was able to give George something he had had crafted before they had saved the world. The shotgun was a quad-barreled 10-guage monster.
When they all arrived on Louis' doorstep, they had to convince
Amelia, the housekeeper, to let them in. Amelia was a shrunken old woman
with an almost thoroughly bad disposition; however, Louis felt some
affection for her. Louis told them that he had stopped writing because he
had forgotten to. He had been working on improving his trademark spell--a
forgetfulness spell--when it backfired and wiped his own mind. Now, he
would forget even the most common things, but only from long-term memory.
Louis had invited his cousin to help him retrieve a book from
a gentleman in Boston. He could not go personally because of his studies,
but realized that having six people go after the book was better that just
one. The investigators agreed, and in partial payment, Louis agreed to
teach a fog spell to Griswold, Russel, and Jean-Paul.
Since they did not have to leave for a few days, the
investigators took some time off and just relaxed. Jean-Paul and Chantal
took the time to practice making a third child and studying the spell
instruction sheet Louis had given them. Griswold stayed at Louis' house
to talk with him. George began reading, trying to catch up from her three
year absence. Russel decided to explore the countryside, and found a
strange marker-stone in the middle of the forest.
The stones were not arranged in a regular shape, but seemed
randomly placed as they marked their way up into the foothills. The
stones were immoble, because only their top four inches or so showed above
the soil. While following the trail, Russel encountered a familiar looking
cube (*), and was attacked. This cube,
unlike its predecesor, actively chased Russel, and wounded him badly in
the leg. Russel was happy to leave Rockwood after that.
Once in Boston, Jean-Paul and Chantal went to enjoy the local carnival. His grandmother had told him that he should enjoy life as much as possible, and a trip to the fair certainly seemed like an appropriate way to start. The Carnival was host to almost every act imaginable. The most thrilling and grotesque, however, was O'Dodd House of Nature. In it, the customers would see freaks of nature, especially the main attraction, Fish Boy. Jean-Paul stumbled into the environment of intrigue that surrounded Fish Boy, and tried to help. In the process, he met Paul LeMond, a man whose eyes were violet. By the time the rest of the investigators had returned, Jean-Paul and Paul LeMond had accidentally helped Fish Boy to be reunited with his people, the Deep Ones.
While Jean-Paul and Chantal were off having fun, the other
investigators met with Danny O'Bannien, the man who owned the book Louis
wanted. O'Bannien turned out to be a mafia lord, and a tempermental one at
that. He refused to negotiate for the book unless they found out who had
tried to steal his friend's corpse. He seemed especially eager to get the
celtic-knot ring from the corpse. The investigators agreed, and went to
look for clues.
The funeral parlor was appalingly dirty, and the director was
singularly useless. The only thing of interest they were able to find
were small, rat-like footprints, and a loose drain cover that was only six
inches in diameter.
While investigating the workplace and hangout-spots of O'Bannien's friend, Russel and Griswold found themselves being followed by two pale individuals. Feeling confrontational, they accosted their tails, only to be involved in a close-pitched fistfight. The sensation of being followed by pale people and following elusive monks in burnt-orange robes had begun to get a bit taxing.
The three investigators convinced the widow to let them stay
overnight in the house to protect the body. At about 2am, George left to
find some coffee and sandwiches, and Russel and Griswold were put to
sleep. George returned and woke them up to find that the corpse was gone.
It had been dragged out the back door and into a manhole. The widow had
been crucified upside-down in her room; her eyes and tongue had been
chewed out. In the widow's room, they found a book, Folklore of the
Emerald Isle.
George decided to pay a visit to Dr. Pierce, and asked him
about Irish legends. The doctor happened to have a copy of
Folklore, and they discovered that evil little creatures may have
been responsible for the theft of the corpse. They also discovered that
being drunk would assist one to see the little folk, and forthwith drank a
bottle of wine.
They had heard about a recent string of antique store
robberies, so they checked the closest one first. Their addlepated vision
revealed an army of the little monsters invading the store. Using a spell
he had transcribed from the pyramid, Christopher armored himself and
George with the sparkling black skin of a Shadowwalker. They managed to
capture six of the creatures, but by they time they had driven home, only
one was still alive. George excitedly called Russel and Griswold on the
phone, telling them to come as quickly as they could.
This is where the trouble began. Russel and Griswold came
barrelling into the house, expecting trouble. They heard George's voice
in the basement, and went to go find out what was going on. In the
basement, they saw two Shadowwalkers. In a very natural reaction, they
openned fire. Christopher was unharmed, but George took most of the blast
of her own four-barrelled shotgun and a rifle slug to the chest. Russel
and Griswold stopped to reload, decided to run instead, and took
Christopher's butler with them.
George was unwell for some time, even with the assistance of
Christopher's healing spell. After an unsuccessful attempt to blow up the
Pierce home, George convinced Russel that there were no Shadowwalkers
there. An uneasy truce was made, though Christopher did not trust these
obviously homocidal individuals. The two most able bodied members of the
group--Christopher and Griswold--went down into the sewers to deal with
the little creatures and rescue the corpse. Eventually they found it, and
hacked the ring off of its finger (the ring would not come off normally).
Danny O'Bannien was thrilled to get the ring, and gave Griswold two books instead of just one. The books were Khor-eh-tin, an arabic work, and the Senetane, a journal left by Ezekiel Whitmore.
The intrepid investigators, with Dr. Pierce and Paul LeMond,
returned to Rockwood, Pennsylvania. Amelia was as charming as ever, but
Louis was looking a bit anxious to get the books. He let Griswold read
the Senetane while he read the other.
While the two Lewises were absorbed in books, Paul
disappeared, and Russel, George, and Jean-Paul went to look at the strange
marker stones. A sound like thunder echoed from somewhere up in the hills,
and the marker stones began to glow purple. Then a forked tongue of
purple lightning ran along the ground from the hills. The lightning
unerringly followed the path of the stones to a shed in Louis' back yard.
Russel openned the shed door and they all saw a huge stone, cut in the
same shape as the marker stones, glowing a deep purple and steaming
slightly.
When confronted with this, Louis had to admit that he could
not properly remember that he even had a shed. All of the
investigators (except Chantal) hiked back into the woods to find Russel's
"Point Offense Cube". Unfortunately, they found it. Eventually, the
combined attacks of all the the investigators did enough damage to make it
flee. Upon their return, they collapsed in chairs and couches and caught
their breath. Griswold noticed that a car had passed in front of the
house several times--the same car that had followed them in Boston.
Jean-Paul stepped outside to figure out what was going on, and was
engulfed by a thick fog. The entire house had been encompassed by the
magically induced fog. Then the vampires came.
At first, it looked like they were attacking randomly, but
once they got into the house, the vampires charged at Griswold. Just when
things looked their worst, a band of men came bursting in through the
windows, and helped turn the tide. The "leader" of this nondescript band
drew an ornate dagger and threw it into the wall next to Griswold's head.
Then, just as quickly as they had arrived, the strange band fled.
Paul LeMond (who had returned just before the fighting had
broken out) was mortally injured, and required immediate attention.
Several days later, when Paul was just becoming able to sit up in bed, he
asked to see George. He was only awake long enough to tell her some
interesting news of his origins and the intentions of an old friend.
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***CHAPTER NOT COMPLETE*** ***VOLUME NOT COMPLETE***
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