September 24, 2025 • 46 mins
In this episode, we jump to our second campaign, a Call of Cthulhu based campaign called Lore for the Pages. In this episode, our heroes inherit both a bookstore and a home from KH Hillman, a bookseller who for years has been selling Cthulhu Mythos and occult books and objets d'arts by mail to unscrupulous buyers. Now, our heroes have to reclaim these lost objects before they are used to cause more problems. The first adventure is set in the fictional town of Sargasso Springs Alabama, a coastal town that is suffering from a strange infestation of bugs and some unusually cold weather. Our heroes get notified of their inheritance and begin the investigation of their new home while realizing neither the weather or the bugs are natural. As they dig deeper they begin to realize their new home maybe won't last long. Check it out!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Yes, and with a new game comes a new session zero.
(01:20):
What we were playing this week is a game called
Call of Cthulhu. We will return to D and D
next week. This campaign has a name. It is Lord.
For the pages, you will find out why as we
play a couple things about mechanics, we are switching up.
There is a stat in the game called sanity, and
(01:41):
considering the amount of neurodivergence, depression, and various other mental
illnesses in this family, I feel like sanity is not
the best stud Yeah, is not the best stat to use,
so we're going to replace it with results, which doesn't
measure sanity as much as it measures your character ability
(02:05):
to carry on after so much shock and horror. We're
not gonna worry about your sanity, but rather your give
a fun to keep it PG. Thirteen. Your give a
fun is going to be what matters, so we're doing
(02:27):
that replacement going forward. Other than that, some adventures will
be a little too much for Lexi to handle, and
she will step aside for those adventures and help me,
but this one should be easy enough for her to handle.
Other than that, this is a game of This is
(02:51):
a game of more horror and less fighting than D
and D. It requires a little more thinking. You're going
to be solving problems, and while I will try to
make sure there is some can't combat in each episode,
I also will include a lot of logic problems and
(03:13):
puzzles that require study to solve. And the big, the
big stat in this game, the one that will probably
get used most is library use. If you look at
your character sheets, you'll find percentages. That is how you
find out whether or not you succeed. Now there may
occasionally be modifications to those, but if so, I will
(03:35):
tell you the dice we are going to use to
affect combat and everything else. Are the hundred sided and
can I get into yes, two tens one with In
my case, I have one that like double zero ten,
(03:58):
ninety eighty and then one that has you know one
or zero nine, And yeah, that is what you're going
to roll to get your percentage. So if you have
a thirty percent chance to do something, we roll it
and the other. And in this case I would have
gotten a sixty nine and failed. So now we will
(04:21):
use other dice. If you look at your weapons, it'll
tell you like some things. Do a die for dice
six die eight but most of what you're going to
be rolling is the the percentile dice or even hundred. Now,
when you succeed on a roll, you need to market
(04:46):
or at least write it down somewhere that you succeeded,
because at the end of the adventure, that is how
your stats come up. Is everything you succeed you have
a chance of raising, and we'll deal with that off camera.
Your characters will just show up next time with better skills,
which is awesome. Your characters do not know each other
(05:10):
in the beginning, though you will as we play this
first adventure. Your characters are each coming from different places
to the same place for the same reason. Hence, I
have shared my screen to show a note that or
(05:31):
a letter that you have all received from an attorney
named Charles B. Siegel, and sharing that note, I will
read it aloud so that you don't have to, but
that way you will have a sense of where you
are and why you're doing what you're doing before we
(05:53):
get started any questions.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Not so far.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
The dice, the dice we're using was the zero zero
zero inside you are right.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Yep, and you have your character sheet, right Arthur?
Speaker 3 (06:13):
Oh yeah? And then they Fred human filman.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
Yes, you're the only one actually related to Kyle Hillman.
Oh hell yeah man. So, but you know that'll come in.
Like I said, if you look in your backgrounds, it
does tell you a little bit about your character, Laura,
I explained yours, LEXI is playing a nineteen year old
(06:45):
uh so, yeah, kind of a spiritualist and then a
cult detective.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
And this takes place in nineteen nineteen, So Lexi, no television,
no cell phones. Everything has to be read in books.
There's no computers. Okay, this takes I know, life is
so hard then in the old days. Okay, back in
(07:15):
my day, I played through.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
So alrighty, so let's get going. I will read the
letter you have received, and then I will take you
to where you are going.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Were the in the early nineteen hundreds.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Yes, but they weren't common.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
They definitely didn't have a phone number like that.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
I'm just saying probably not. No, you're right, but you
know what, it looks good, so we're keeping it does
I just was acting it's my watch on a Centurion moment. Okay,
uh dear, that line would be replaced with your first name.
(08:02):
In Fabian's case, it actually is dear. Fred, because everybody
knows that he goes by Fred where everybody in the
family does. I am writing to inform you of the
death of Kyle Howlett, hereafter known as k. H. Hillman.
(08:22):
He has long been plagued by illness and finally succumbed.
You have been mentioned in his will, which will be
read on March sixth, nineteen nineteen, in the conference room
of the Sargasso Springs Hotel. I have also sent a
ticket for a train to Sargasso Springs, and there will
be a hotel room waiting under your name when you arrive.
(08:45):
We will gather on that morning to discuss matters related
to mister Hillman's will and your inheritance. I urge you
to make your appearance not only for your personal reward,
but to hear a proposal that mister Hillman felt you
would appreciate. Sincerely, Charles B. Siegel, Attorney at Law.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
So that is the letter you have received, along with
a ticket or sorry, along with a ticket for Okay,
do our characters?
Speaker 2 (09:21):
She'd tell us where we It says birthplace, but is
that where we're starting out?
Speaker 1 (09:27):
It's it's up to you. Your character. I feel like
is probably in Chicago. It was a big town for
torch singers, which is what your character technically is.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Well, yeah, but a singer like that could be anywhere.
Kansas City was really big too.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
It was just Chicago was where the money was.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
And New York.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Okay, and dou hey there, that's up. Okay, so that's
moving right along.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
You're dead just doing something else.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
So I didn't know.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
I was confused.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
So it is March fifth, nineteen nineteen. In November, World
War One came to an end. In February, three quarters
of the US agreed to and ratified prohibition, which will
make it the law of the land next year. It
is in this atmosphere that if you have been brought
(10:40):
to the small coastal Alabama town of Sargasso Springs, as
the train pulls into the small coastal town, you notice
it is sleeping, a rare occurrence in a coastal town.
As you step off this train, strange cable in hand,
and by cave I mean the message you received. You
(11:03):
pull your coat around you tighter with dark as come
the cold, and a cold that is quite unusual in
this part of the world. You look at the letter
once more and head into a nearby cab. As you
climb into the cab, you notice a small swarm of
bugs fly off a nearby ice slick post. The bugs
(11:24):
almost look like lady bugs, though they are quite a
bit larger and are all white. The cab drops you
off at the Sargasso Springs Hotel, where there is indeed
a room waiting for you. That is where we begin.
Anybody want to do anything other than go to bed,
get a night's rest before the next morning.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Is there any amenities at this hotel.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Like bar, restaurant, bar restaurant. Yes, it's a nice hotel.
Sargasso Springs is a yet is a destination because it's
a coastal town and even though the weather is not
currently cooperating. Uh yeah, I mean, there'd be a bar
in the hotel and a restaurant. Actually, save space, it's
(12:14):
probably the same area. Are there any ghosts in the hotel?
Maybe none that anybody will admit to.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
And what time do we get in?
Speaker 1 (12:30):
I'm gonna say around eight o'clock.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
Yeah, my heard, you're definitely going to the bar.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Okay, are you going to bed?
Speaker 2 (12:38):
In the game, honestly, I'll go drop myself off at
the cafeteria and get some chickens.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Well, that would be the restaurant, which is also the bar.
So you're sitting at a table. I imagine raying Jackie
that you are sitting at the bar. Yes, okay, So
Victoria or Vicky as she prefers to be called, is
sitting at her table or ordering some chicken.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Doclan is at the bar with a glass of wine.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Well, your evening passes uneventfully, although it is clear this
is a very nice hotel, one you probably would not
have the means to be at if you were depending
on your own pocket. But fortunately this is being paid
for by kh Hillman's estate. Fred aka Fabian. Anything you
(13:35):
want to do before we get started, I.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
Don't h not anything I have in mind. I don't know.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Okay, fair enough, fair enough.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
You can't lead me to my own devices. I don't know.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Fair enough. Well, unless there is anything specific you all
want to do, I'm going to say that you get
pleasure swiff, Jackie and Vicky gets some chicken before retiring
to your room for the night.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
They're not.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
In the morning, you are woken to the news that
breakfast has been prepared in the main dining room. When
you arrive, it is just the three of you. You
find fluffy piles of eggs, crisp bacon, crispy waffles with
warm maple syrup, fresh She's seasonal, fruit, coffee, juice, milk,
(14:29):
and pretty much all the other breakfast staples. And you
notice that, like I said, it is just just the
three of you. A young man, kind of wiry, looking
like he might kind of scruffy, looking like he might
have just wandered in off of doing some unethical criminal
(14:55):
bootlegging activities, or perhaps was in the midst of a
mind town, sort of a man of action kind of guy.
And then Jackie, Well there's Vicki, a young flapper who
seems obsessed with things not in the room, like she's
(15:19):
always off her thoughts wandering. And then of course Jackie,
a beautiful woman wearing a fair amount of jewelry, which
was uncommon for nineteen nineteen. So you have now met
each other. You may say hi to one another, or
(15:39):
we can just move on. It's up to you. Good morning,
good morning, good morning, it's.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
Great, rizy going? What now?
Speaker 2 (15:51):
What did you say?
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Hello? Ladies? How's it going?
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Hello? Sir? How are you?
Speaker 3 (16:00):
I am? I am fantastic, Thank you for asking. I
hope you two are good yourselves.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
So it spread dashing and handsome.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Or I am dashing and handsome, wonderful.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Oh yeah, my characters like fluttering her eyes right back
at Fred. Alrighty, I'm just standing there awkwardly.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Well, you'd probably be getting breakfast. Like I said, it's
kind of a buffet style affair, and there is plenty
of food. So whatever you might be in the mood
for is there. Like I said, I gave you the
list of breakfast staples. And if there's something else you think, like, oh,
I'd like grits, well, poof guess what they've got grits.
(16:59):
So it's amazing. This is theater of the mind, and
magical things happen.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
I'm food, I'm hungry.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Pancakes, pancakes, pancakes.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
I want some of them, eggs, and I want some
of them bacon.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
And LEXI. I picked waffles, not pancakes, but if you insist,
I could make it pancakes.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Pancakes, pancakes.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Child prefers pancakes to waffles.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
Who knew I prefer waffles to pancakes.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Then you're good because that had originally said waffles.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
So long story short, you having nice breakfast. At the
end of said breakfast, once you have pushed your plates away,
feeling full and comfortable, a woman in an apron, clearly
one of the hotels employees, h comes in to let
you know that mister Siegel is awaiting you in the
(17:59):
conference and so she shows you the way into the
conference room. You see a short, older man with wire
rimmed spectacles, white hair, and a bald spot. He has
a benign smile on his face and he seems clearly
pleased to see you all.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
There is a new fangled phonograph with a wax cylinder
loaded onto it, and as you take your seats, he says,
please take your seats everyone. I hope you had a
good trip and a good night's sleep. Now, mister Hillman
left a written will, but he also recorded this version
to have played for you all here this morning. So
(18:38):
once you get sat down, we'll play the recording and
then I will answer all of your questions, at least
as much as I can.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
All right, Well, Mike Jacqueline takes her seat.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
You said down.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Apparently Vigerson's down too.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
I'm gonna sit down next to you.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
You did okay, Well, mister Siegel begins their core, and
here's how it goes. I, Kyle H. Hillman, being of
sound mind, you know what ef this. Frankly, I have
no time for this legal mumbo jumbo. I suppose you
are all wondering what you're doing here. Why I am
(19:16):
leaving all my worldly possessions, such as they are, to
a collection of cousins, nephews, nieces, and acquaintances. To Coach Shakespeare.
There are more things in heaven and earth for ratio
than are dreamt of in your philosophy. You have all
had encounters with things you cannot explain. These encounters and
(19:38):
have march you, or in some cases, perhaps scarred is
a better term. I spent most of my life selling
books and abje dar. Most of these items were touched
with strangeness, but a few of them were touched by
something more, something evil. Some of you may believe that
(19:59):
this is merely the lunacy of a sick old man,
but I tell you, many of the items I found
for my clients were touched by something evil, something otherworldly,
something that definitely once a place in our world, or
some things. I have sold dangerous items to dangerous people,
(20:22):
something I regret now, but circumstances being what they are,
I am not in a position to correct it. You, however, can't.
I have chosen each of you based on experiences you
have had and interactions we have shared. Jacqueline, many a
night we sat drinking together talking over such experiences. Vicky,
(20:44):
I spoke to you as you were growing up, when
you were asking questions about seances and the other side.
And Fabian, my nephew. You have worked for me for
quite some time looking into these mysteries, and you have
had your own experiences and we have spoken of them.
(21:08):
I have chosen each of you based on these experiences.
As I said, you each get a share of my home,
my business, and my money. However, if you will not
commit to looking for and taking care of these things,
you can sign a quick claim and walk away with
two hundred dollars right now. But if you accept, I
(21:31):
promise you will be making the world a better place.
This will not be without danger. Many doing these things
have died or gone irrevocably insane. But by your actions
you will correct my mistakes and improve the world around you.
I suggest you've begin with a local case mister Siegel
(21:54):
will hand you my ledger, and if you note the
entry circled and read, I sold of a fragment of
a book called Liber Himanus, which means the Book of
Winter in Latin, in case you don't speak, it to
a local man named Maxwell Sherwood. Since then the man
has been less and less frequently seen, and those who
(22:15):
have seen him claim he looks gaunt and haunted. Ce Max,
get the book back from him, and you can and
save him if you can. I hope you accept my invitation.
I do not care for the fate of the world
if you do not. And with that, mister Siegel turned
(22:36):
pulls the needle off the wax cylinder and turns to
you all any questions.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
So we can either get two hundred dollars today, or
we can sign on for some kind of recurring hunt.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
You can sign on to become part owner of the
Lord for the Page's Bookstore, to become part owner of
mister Hillman's extensive home and his extensive fortune. But yes,
to sign on to become part owner of these things
would require you to correct his mistakes, which would require
(23:18):
you to make regular trips to reclaim objects he feels
he is sold to the wrong people.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Heck, I'm in.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
You're in as well, VICKI did it? Is that what
I heard you say?
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (23:30):
And as for you, Fred, are you in or are
you taking the quick claim?
Speaker 3 (23:34):
I'm in?
Speaker 1 (23:35):
Alrighty with that? Mister Siegel produces the keys to both
the store and mister Hillman's home. He sets them a
copy of There are three copies of each key, one
for each of you. He sets those on a table
for you to get whenever, and then he hands over
(23:57):
the Ledger and he points to an entry that has
been circled and read. Now, I have it on screen here,
but I don't know that I can get it big
enough for you all to read, and I cannot seem
to figure out how to send it to you in discord,
so I'll simply read it. It is a collection of
(24:22):
missives letters that are stuck in the ledger, as well
as a Ledger entry.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
And I will journey for some time now. I used
to see you and Martha and I would go to church.
Of course, that was some time ago. Now with us
gone and me lay it off from the canning factory,
It's been a while since I've been to one of
Father Lehmann's sermons, and frankly, the way I've been living,
(24:52):
I am not entirely sure I would pass through the
doors without the Lord himself coming down and smiting me
dead upon the spot. I am writing to you because
after Martha's passing, I have come into some money and
there's a rare book I'm after one. I've only heard
mentioned a few times in passing, and thoughts of it
(25:15):
have all but consumed me. What say you? Would you
track down a book for an old friend who's down
on his luck? It is a very old book called
Deliver Himanis or some such Thanks Kyle in advanced, Sincerely,
Maxwell Sherwood. And then the one below it? Are we
reading that also?
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Yeah? Like I said, it's a series of left.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
August nineteen eighteen, Max. It was lovely to hear from you.
I'm sorry to hear Martha finally passed. Merculowitz's is hard
and most who contract it don't live longer than two years.
I was hoping she would be the one of the
rare cases. It is so very sad she was not.
As for the book, I have heard of it, however,
(26:00):
whole copies are almost completely unknown. It was of the
books burned by such men as Cotton Mather in their
fight against witches. So one of my friends, a finder
of books, told me some time ago he had come
by a fragment of such a book. I will reach
(26:21):
out and see if it's still if he still has it,
and what, if anything would encourage him to sell it.
Find your piece, Max Regards, kh Hilman So Timber, nineteen eighteen.
Carl Kyle, you actually know where I can locate a
copy a copy of a book that you say has
been mostly destroyed, then surely this must be providence. Clearly,
(26:45):
even if it is a fragment, it must contain the
section I need. Yes, please reach out to your associate
see what he would want for the portion he possesses.
It has been like I have been living in the
hottest of such and finally there is coolness upon my brow.
Thank you, sir, most kindly. Max Sherwood, September nineteen eighteen. Max,
(27:09):
worry not. I already sent along amissive to my associate,
which even now he could be reading and replying to. However,
I am concerned by something you said in your most
recent letter. Initially, you said you wanted the book because
it had passed your mind. However, in your last letter
you said it must surely contain the part you need.
(27:31):
Understand that I know full well how some of these
works are used, and I am most distressed over the
thought of you in acting such rights and rituals that
would be unhealthy for both you and the town. Please
use my conscience and convince me there is no ulterior
(27:53):
motive in you wanting this book. Regards, Kah Chilman, October
nineteen eighteen. Kyle, forgive my delay in replying to you.
You know how things pile up, especially when you are
one person used to being part of a couple. I
apologize for causing you concern. In my excitement and realizing
you may have already located a copy, and in my
(28:14):
haste to pen the letter, I this bot. When I
said the part I need, I meant the part that
I want to read. A treats A treatise in on
insects in cold weather. Surely this can cause you no
broad concern. I know the book's reputation as a toma
forbidden knowledge, but hidden here and there amongst such garbage
(28:37):
are nuggets of truth that might help one to plant
a garden in cold weather and the like. Please let
me know what you hear about the book. Sincerely, Max Sherwood,
October nineteen eighteen. Max, thank you for taking the time
to address my concerns. It means more to me than
you know. Good news. The private investigator I used to
(28:58):
help me locate such things has found the fragment. It
is even now on its way to me. You can
pick it up, I can deliver it at my I
can deliver it to your place for a small fee.
The book itself came cheaper than I thought, only one
hundred and fifty dollars. Let me know what you want
me to do. Regards K. H. Hillman.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
And then the ledger contains a simple entry sold to
Max Sherwood of Sargasso Springs, Alabama, one copy damaged of
the Liber Harmanas. So that is where you begin. You
had the letters, You know that Max Sherwood contains has
(29:41):
a copy of the Liber Hymanas, and you know a
little bit about what the book's about.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
Okay, I don't know about you all, but I think
we ought to go check out our new house.
Speaker 3 (29:53):
Yeah, I do agree.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
I got all three gonna head to the estate.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
His house is located on Overlooked on Overlook Hill. This
peaked roof Gothic ranch style home faces the ocean with
a curved driveway. Behind the house, there is a small
shed with a shovel and a few gardening tools, but
the number of cobwebs suggests that no one has been
in it for some time. The house has a foyer
(30:19):
with a coat rack with a sweater on it. There
is also a small gray circular rug. From the foyer,
there is a doorway into the living room, where there
are two chairs facing each other. Next to one chair
is a series of magazines, mostly industry magazines for booksellers. Also,
(30:40):
there is a small black book listed among them. Among
the names in it is the attorney Charles Siegel, and
Phil Hutzel, a private detective apparently Hillman's contact for locating
rare books. Also whose name is lifted in the book
are each of yours. It looks as his film and
(31:01):
lived here and did his own cooking, and there was
not a lot of company. Still, the kitchen smells of
clothes and cooked onions, indicating it was well used. To
the right of the living room is a short hallway
with a water closet on the north, and a small
study slash library to the south. Clearly mister Hillman enjoyed
(31:23):
reading history, just from the titles of the books kept here.
At the end of the hallways a large bedroom with
a dresser, a large comfortable bed, a small bookcase with
a well worn historical treatises. There is a phone on
the nightstand, which is again rare for the time period.
(31:43):
Let's see. There is also a bottle of the aspirin
and a radio. There's a glass of water next to
the phone that has been here. You have no idea
how in the hallway there is a cord hanging down.
When you pull the cord as seven stairs from the
descend from the ceiling and going up you will see
(32:05):
the attic has been refurbished into two comfortable guest bedrooms.
The house, however, has a touch of strangeness to it.
And when I say that, I mean just wandering through
the place, you feel a little odd. Now I am
going to need everyone to make a luck roll. Whatever
(32:26):
your power is, you're going to try to roll under
that on too, on your percentile dice.
Speaker 3 (32:32):
How do you see that the power roll.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
Powers in your second column of your stats second column,
second down, pow, pow. I wanted to roll below or
above below? Okay, I did not roll below. I had
an eighty five your roll your power?
Speaker 1 (32:52):
Wait?
Speaker 3 (32:52):
What what do all the numbers mean? I'm so confused
right now?
Speaker 2 (32:56):
Okay, so you're two that the ones that have two
numbers on it, that's your percentage or that's your tenth
place number, and then the other one is your ones.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
Well, I think he's asking about character sheet, which the
character sheet you have strength, you have size, you have power,
which is a measure of your internal ability. Let's see intelligence.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
What's the good cheer roll dat eight?
Speaker 1 (33:27):
Alrighty okay?
Speaker 3 (33:29):
So I see I see pow, I see I see pow. Okay,
I also three see three numbers next to pow. What
does this mean? I just need an answer.
Speaker 2 (33:42):
So the stats. So the first one is the actual
stat which, like mine, is seventy, the middle one is
half of that, and the end one is a fifth
of that. That's the only thing it is.
Speaker 1 (33:54):
It's just right right. Three numbers are are like, there's
a difficulty, then it'll go down. If I tell you
there's that it's very hard, then it'll go down even more.
Unless I say specifically, Hey, this is going to be
a difficult thing or a very difficult thing. We're always
going to look at that first number.
Speaker 3 (34:17):
Okay, so first number I want under or above it?
Speaker 1 (34:21):
Right under? You went under it?
Speaker 3 (34:24):
Well under it, Okay, I got zero zero. I don't
think that's under it.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
Yeah, No, zero zero is one hundred.
Speaker 3 (34:33):
Zero zero is one hundred.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
That's a critical fail.
Speaker 3 (34:36):
Damn, that is sad.
Speaker 1 (34:38):
But that's okay, it's not a big deal. Basically, after
you've you've entered the house as now Vicky is staying
upstairs and is putting her stuff in one of the
guest bedrooms. You two have wandered downstairs to the study,
or not to the study, but to the living area,
(34:59):
and and you notice that whereas before there were definitely
only two chairs facing each other, there is now a
third chair exactly the same. And the wallpaper, whereas before
it was a floral pattern, it is now just a
solid blue.
Speaker 2 (35:18):
Oh so the house has changed in the fifteen minutes
we've been here.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
Yes, nice, And.
Speaker 2 (35:27):
Do you have that you just was not impressed?
Speaker 1 (35:30):
Sorry, go ahead, you both lose too, resolve or it's
listed on your character sheet is sanity. But yes, you
have the temporary loss of to sanity. So if you
wanted us to write down whether we failed or not, no,
only Wright noted if you succeed.
Speaker 3 (35:51):
Oh, only noted if you succeed.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
Okay, yes, okay, so then yes for Lexi.
Speaker 1 (35:59):
Yeah, Lexi stayed in her room, did not stayed in
her new room. Setting it up, you two were going downstairs.
You walked into the living room and like I said,
you notice it is changed.
Speaker 3 (36:14):
Stone.
Speaker 2 (36:15):
You hold down the fort. We're gonna go start some chicken.
Speaker 3 (36:19):
I wrote down the negative to sanity.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
Awesome. Now, as you drove to the house, which you
didn't drive, you took a cap even though I believe
Fabian can drive and drive well. If not Fabian, it's Jackie.
I'm not sure which, but one of you can drive
pretty well. As you begin to investigate the area, a
bitter wind blows across what was once clearly a beach town.
(36:47):
There are a few hobos here and there in town,
not uncommon in the nineteen nineteens, unfortunately mostly huddled together
for warm Swarms of the white lady bugs or June
bugs fly hither and yawn across the city. And as
you if you ever were walking on the street. You
(37:09):
notice people peeking suspiciously out of their windows.
Speaker 3 (37:12):
At Oh well then't that swall?
Speaker 1 (37:15):
So that is the home you've inherited, and yes it
will change once upon a time. That is the strangeness
within the house. You will also enter rooms that were
not there before occasionally, but you haven't this time, but
the house re dreams itself. Let's say, what are you eating?
You crazy crazy baby? Do you see any other crazy
(37:36):
babies in the chat me? Arthur, You're a crazy teenager,
not a crazy baby. Excuse me, although you will always
be my baby. But if I'm calling you out for
a crazy baby, it's the Lexi you would be my
crazy Artur. You're only ground You're only a baby. When
you're grounded, then you're a grounded baby, which I am
(37:58):
forced to do from time to time.
Speaker 3 (38:03):
What am I doing? What are we doing right now?
Speaker 1 (38:06):
I just like completely Well in the game, you're wandering
the house. Yeah, your your new house. You have not
been to your business yet. You can go there, or
you can begin to work on the mystery. Maybe try
to find Max Sherwood's place, Maybe try to find, you know,
(38:27):
information in the newspaper about events in the city. Things
like that. But you haven't chosen to do any of
those things yet, and I feel like we're actually taking
a bit of a break. Some mom can start dinner.
Well okay, but if there's something you would like to do, Arthur,
we can certainly do that.
Speaker 3 (38:45):
I'm hot. I feel like I'm dying right now.
Speaker 1 (38:47):
Why don't you come here so I can see you?
Speaker 2 (38:49):
Yeah, we're exploring the house. Correct, Yes, so other than
the main floor and then the attic that's been turned
into two bedrooms, is there anything else inside the house
of note? No, I'm still unpacking in my room, right,
(39:11):
I guess so. Yes, that's what you say.
Speaker 1 (39:13):
You're doing.
Speaker 2 (39:14):
Well, once you not lean on that, you guys are
destroying it.
Speaker 3 (39:18):
Please stop that.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
It is not made to hold you up. Baby, you're
tearing it. Look, gotta stop that. Well, once my character
has finished kind of perusing the house, I think you
probably would be ready to go check out the bookstore.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
Also, all right, let us wait until we haven't Arthur,
and we will go and check out the bookstore. Yeah, heck,
you can even change it. I didn't mean it to
define your identity necessarily. I was just trying to come
up with a cool name, Jacqueline Raven sounded cool to me.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
No, I like it. I just like the gun better
than the jack, That's all I was saying.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
Ye, Alexi, come here so I can take he Yet
I can't.
Speaker 2 (40:03):
I can't walk through the screen you okay, guys?
Speaker 3 (40:09):
Anyway, Oh my body hurts. My muscles feel awful.
Speaker 2 (40:13):
I'm so sore from what baby.
Speaker 3 (40:16):
I don't know. I just took a shower and now
I'm sore.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
It could be how he slept at mom's. I don't
know where he's sleeping, but it may not have been
real comfortable for him, in which case he's gonna need
a night on his own bed to straighten him out.
Justse We'll take it easy. This is not a huge adventure.
Speaker 3 (40:37):
Okay, I'm ready whenever you guys are okay.
Speaker 1 (40:40):
So sorry, Arthur, you have nothing to apologize for. Jacqueline
had suggested you all had two lord for the pages
of the bookstore, so you can investigate it if you'd
like it. Does that seem like to be a thing
you'd all like to.
Speaker 2 (40:55):
Do, so I guess we're all going to the bookstore.
Speaker 1 (40:59):
All right. The small bookshop is located just off Main Street.
It is a small building with a large window that
reveals several waist high bookshelves with a handful of books
sitting covers out on the shelves. These are all at
least somewhat rare first editions or autographed editions. The few
(41:23):
books on hand are all literary, but assigned. Taped to
the front counter reads asking me about special orders. Looking
in them back, there's a copy of the Malleus Malthakarum
by Cotton Mather, clearly a special order for a client,
and a few other rare tones. Looking in the ledger
you will see a listing of books or objects he
(41:44):
has sold and who has sold them to, complete with
their addresses. There's also a stack of correspondents. Also there
is a safe. The combination which you all have is
nine to eight nineteen. Inside there is twenty five dollars
in loose bills of various varying denominations. Clearly used is
(42:07):
change for in shop purchases, so that is lore for
the pages. It is a tiny bit underwhelming for a
place that the entire series is named after. However, that
signed by the counter says everything. Their business was primarily
(42:27):
special orders, especially books that were hard to fund in
some cases books he sold were impossible to find. There
there is. As you search through the ledger, a few
names jump out of you. One is a book by
the mad arab abd Alizard. It is not named as
(42:51):
anything other than that, but it certainly if you have
any occult knowledge at all, feel free to make in
a cult role and market. If you make it, you
know that last name, and it's not a good name.
That's not a good book. It's not when people should
be perusing.
Speaker 2 (43:08):
All right, and how do well?
Speaker 1 (43:10):
If you look on your sheet, it will tell you
you're scoring a cult uh, and then you just roll
D one hundred again. It's not an extreme check or
anything like that. Just the final.
Speaker 2 (43:24):
Dry us something into Bayon. No, you're fine, We're just
talking about the store. Where's the colts out on here?
Speaker 1 (43:33):
Yeah? Right next right across to uh from that five percent,
you'll see a number forty. That is your regular percentage.
So that is what you are trying to roll under Hartford.
Speaker 2 (43:48):
Okay, Okay, LEXI got so.
Speaker 1 (43:53):
LEXI makes it. Yes, LEXI has heard of it, and
again mark it or write it down somewhere. Yeah, I
did not make that way.
Speaker 2 (44:01):
It's made both of her checks so far.
Speaker 3 (44:04):
Well, how congratulations to her.
Speaker 2 (44:06):
All right, I failed both of mine to Arthur.
Speaker 1 (44:09):
Arthur, you could borrow some of my dice if you want.
Speaker 2 (44:13):
No, it's okay, Okay, So we've heard of this the
two Lexi has heard of this book. What does she
know about it?
Speaker 1 (44:22):
That it's bad, that nothing in it is good, and
that the people who want it almost always want it
for bad purposes. Very fact that he sold a copy
is not a good thing, so that that sort of
gives you an idea that the Ledger things he's sold
are not good things and probably not sold to good people.
Speaker 2 (44:46):
Okay, well, this could get interesting.
Speaker 3 (44:51):
Or bad really bad, really fast.
Speaker 1 (44:54):
And the Ledger describes the liber Harmanus the Book Winner
as a book of rituals and spells designed to bring
about a permanent winter and maybe summon a dark entity
as well. Oh so yeah, but that's written directly in
the Ledger. You don't need to roll for that knowledge,
(45:17):
just ab it.
Speaker 2 (45:19):
So, based on the letter that we read earlier, wouldn't
we reach out to this person to see if there's
any way to get this book back.
Speaker 1 (45:28):
Or you could just go visit him his address, I mean,
you have his address from all the letters. But yes,
there is there are ways to reach out now. There's
no phone number listed, but you could certainly go in
person if.
Speaker 2 (45:42):
You want to. I think maybe tomorrow we should go
see this, mister.
Speaker 1 (45:47):
Mathi's right, Max Sherwood. Mister Sherwood.
Speaker 3 (45:53):
We need to go see Max Sherwood.
Speaker 2 (45:54):
Then is he in town or just fairly nearby?
Speaker 1 (46:00):
He's in town?
Speaker 2 (46:01):
Okay, yes, I guess we'd make plans to go and
see mister Sherwood.
Speaker 1 (46:06):
Alrighty
Yes, and with a new game comes a new session zero.
(01:20):
What we were playing this week is a game called
Call of Cthulhu. We will return to D and D
next week. This campaign has a name. It is Lord.
For the pages, you will find out why as we
play a couple things about mechanics, we are switching up.
There is a stat in the game called sanity, and
(01:41):
considering the amount of neurodivergence, depression, and various other mental
illnesses in this family, I feel like sanity is not
the best stud Yeah, is not the best stat to use,
so we're going to replace it with results, which doesn't
measure sanity as much as it measures your character ability
(02:05):
to carry on after so much shock and horror. We're
not gonna worry about your sanity, but rather your give
a fun to keep it PG. Thirteen. Your give a
fun is going to be what matters, so we're doing
(02:27):
that replacement going forward. Other than that, some adventures will
be a little too much for Lexi to handle, and
she will step aside for those adventures and help me,
but this one should be easy enough for her to handle.
Other than that, this is a game of This is
(02:51):
a game of more horror and less fighting than D
and D. It requires a little more thinking. You're going
to be solving problems, and while I will try to
make sure there is some can't combat in each episode,
I also will include a lot of logic problems and
(03:13):
puzzles that require study to solve. And the big, the
big stat in this game, the one that will probably
get used most is library use. If you look at
your character sheets, you'll find percentages. That is how you
find out whether or not you succeed. Now there may
occasionally be modifications to those, but if so, I will
(03:35):
tell you the dice we are going to use to
affect combat and everything else. Are the hundred sided and
can I get into yes, two tens one with In
my case, I have one that like double zero ten,
(03:58):
ninety eighty and then one that has you know one
or zero nine, And yeah, that is what you're going
to roll to get your percentage. So if you have
a thirty percent chance to do something, we roll it
and the other. And in this case I would have
gotten a sixty nine and failed. So now we will
(04:21):
use other dice. If you look at your weapons, it'll
tell you like some things. Do a die for dice
six die eight but most of what you're going to
be rolling is the the percentile dice or even hundred. Now,
when you succeed on a roll, you need to market
(04:46):
or at least write it down somewhere that you succeeded,
because at the end of the adventure, that is how
your stats come up. Is everything you succeed you have
a chance of raising, and we'll deal with that off camera.
Your characters will just show up next time with better skills,
which is awesome. Your characters do not know each other
(05:10):
in the beginning, though you will as we play this
first adventure. Your characters are each coming from different places
to the same place for the same reason. Hence, I
have shared my screen to show a note that or
(05:31):
a letter that you have all received from an attorney
named Charles B. Siegel, and sharing that note, I will
read it aloud so that you don't have to, but
that way you will have a sense of where you
are and why you're doing what you're doing before we
(05:53):
get started any questions.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Not so far.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
The dice, the dice we're using was the zero zero
zero inside you are right.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Yep, and you have your character sheet, right Arthur?
Speaker 3 (06:13):
Oh yeah? And then they Fred human filman.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
Yes, you're the only one actually related to Kyle Hillman.
Oh hell yeah man. So, but you know that'll come in.
Like I said, if you look in your backgrounds, it
does tell you a little bit about your character, Laura,
I explained yours, LEXI is playing a nineteen year old
(06:45):
uh so, yeah, kind of a spiritualist and then a
cult detective.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
And this takes place in nineteen nineteen, So Lexi, no television,
no cell phones. Everything has to be read in books.
There's no computers. Okay, this takes I know, life is
so hard then in the old days. Okay, back in
(07:15):
my day, I played through.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
So alrighty, so let's get going. I will read the
letter you have received, and then I will take you
to where you are going.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Were the in the early nineteen hundreds.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Yes, but they weren't common.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
They definitely didn't have a phone number like that.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
I'm just saying probably not. No, you're right, but you
know what, it looks good, so we're keeping it does
I just was acting it's my watch on a Centurion moment. Okay,
uh dear, that line would be replaced with your first name.
(08:02):
In Fabian's case, it actually is dear. Fred, because everybody
knows that he goes by Fred where everybody in the
family does. I am writing to inform you of the
death of Kyle Howlett, hereafter known as k. H. Hillman.
(08:22):
He has long been plagued by illness and finally succumbed.
You have been mentioned in his will, which will be
read on March sixth, nineteen nineteen, in the conference room
of the Sargasso Springs Hotel. I have also sent a
ticket for a train to Sargasso Springs, and there will
be a hotel room waiting under your name when you arrive.
(08:45):
We will gather on that morning to discuss matters related
to mister Hillman's will and your inheritance. I urge you
to make your appearance not only for your personal reward,
but to hear a proposal that mister Hillman felt you
would appreciate. Sincerely, Charles B. Siegel, Attorney at Law.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
So that is the letter you have received, along with
a ticket or sorry, along with a ticket for Okay,
do our characters?
Speaker 2 (09:21):
She'd tell us where we It says birthplace, but is
that where we're starting out?
Speaker 1 (09:27):
It's it's up to you. Your character. I feel like
is probably in Chicago. It was a big town for
torch singers, which is what your character technically is.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Well, yeah, but a singer like that could be anywhere.
Kansas City was really big too.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
It was just Chicago was where the money was.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
And New York.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Okay, and dou hey there, that's up. Okay, so that's
moving right along.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
You're dead just doing something else.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
So I didn't know.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
I was confused.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
So it is March fifth, nineteen nineteen. In November, World
War One came to an end. In February, three quarters
of the US agreed to and ratified prohibition, which will
make it the law of the land next year. It
is in this atmosphere that if you have been brought
(10:40):
to the small coastal Alabama town of Sargasso Springs, as
the train pulls into the small coastal town, you notice
it is sleeping, a rare occurrence in a coastal town.
As you step off this train, strange cable in hand,
and by cave I mean the message you received. You
(11:03):
pull your coat around you tighter with dark as come
the cold, and a cold that is quite unusual in
this part of the world. You look at the letter
once more and head into a nearby cab. As you
climb into the cab, you notice a small swarm of
bugs fly off a nearby ice slick post. The bugs
(11:24):
almost look like lady bugs, though they are quite a
bit larger and are all white. The cab drops you
off at the Sargasso Springs Hotel, where there is indeed
a room waiting for you. That is where we begin.
Anybody want to do anything other than go to bed,
get a night's rest before the next morning.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Is there any amenities at this hotel.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Like bar, restaurant, bar restaurant. Yes, it's a nice hotel.
Sargasso Springs is a yet is a destination because it's
a coastal town and even though the weather is not
currently cooperating. Uh yeah, I mean, there'd be a bar
in the hotel and a restaurant. Actually, save space, it's
(12:14):
probably the same area. Are there any ghosts in the hotel?
Maybe none that anybody will admit to.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
And what time do we get in?
Speaker 1 (12:30):
I'm gonna say around eight o'clock.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
Yeah, my heard, you're definitely going to the bar.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Okay, are you going to bed?
Speaker 2 (12:38):
In the game, honestly, I'll go drop myself off at
the cafeteria and get some chickens.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Well, that would be the restaurant, which is also the bar.
So you're sitting at a table. I imagine raying Jackie
that you are sitting at the bar. Yes, okay, So
Victoria or Vicky as she prefers to be called, is
sitting at her table or ordering some chicken.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Doclan is at the bar with a glass of wine.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Well, your evening passes uneventfully, although it is clear this
is a very nice hotel, one you probably would not
have the means to be at if you were depending
on your own pocket. But fortunately this is being paid
for by kh Hillman's estate. Fred aka Fabian. Anything you
(13:35):
want to do before we get started, I.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
Don't h not anything I have in mind. I don't know.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Okay, fair enough, fair enough.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
You can't lead me to my own devices. I don't know.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Fair enough. Well, unless there is anything specific you all
want to do, I'm going to say that you get
pleasure swiff, Jackie and Vicky gets some chicken before retiring
to your room for the night.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
They're not.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
In the morning, you are woken to the news that
breakfast has been prepared in the main dining room. When
you arrive, it is just the three of you. You
find fluffy piles of eggs, crisp bacon, crispy waffles with
warm maple syrup, fresh She's seasonal, fruit, coffee, juice, milk,
(14:29):
and pretty much all the other breakfast staples. And you
notice that, like I said, it is just just the
three of you. A young man, kind of wiry, looking
like he might kind of scruffy, looking like he might
have just wandered in off of doing some unethical criminal
(14:55):
bootlegging activities, or perhaps was in the midst of a
mind town, sort of a man of action kind of guy.
And then Jackie, Well there's Vicki, a young flapper who
seems obsessed with things not in the room, like she's
(15:19):
always off her thoughts wandering. And then of course Jackie,
a beautiful woman wearing a fair amount of jewelry, which
was uncommon for nineteen nineteen. So you have now met
each other. You may say hi to one another, or
(15:39):
we can just move on. It's up to you. Good morning,
good morning, good morning, it's.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
Great, rizy going? What now?
Speaker 2 (15:51):
What did you say?
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Hello? Ladies? How's it going?
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Hello? Sir? How are you?
Speaker 3 (16:00):
I am? I am fantastic, Thank you for asking. I
hope you two are good yourselves.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
So it spread dashing and handsome.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Or I am dashing and handsome, wonderful.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Oh yeah, my characters like fluttering her eyes right back
at Fred. Alrighty, I'm just standing there awkwardly.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Well, you'd probably be getting breakfast. Like I said, it's
kind of a buffet style affair, and there is plenty
of food. So whatever you might be in the mood
for is there. Like I said, I gave you the
list of breakfast staples. And if there's something else you think, like, oh,
I'd like grits, well, poof guess what they've got grits.
(16:59):
So it's amazing. This is theater of the mind, and
magical things happen.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
I'm food, I'm hungry.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Pancakes, pancakes, pancakes.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
I want some of them, eggs, and I want some
of them bacon.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
And LEXI. I picked waffles, not pancakes, but if you insist,
I could make it pancakes.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Pancakes, pancakes.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Child prefers pancakes to waffles.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
Who knew I prefer waffles to pancakes.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Then you're good because that had originally said waffles.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
So long story short, you having nice breakfast. At the
end of said breakfast, once you have pushed your plates away,
feeling full and comfortable, a woman in an apron, clearly
one of the hotels employees, h comes in to let
you know that mister Siegel is awaiting you in the
(17:59):
conference and so she shows you the way into the
conference room. You see a short, older man with wire
rimmed spectacles, white hair, and a bald spot. He has
a benign smile on his face and he seems clearly
pleased to see you all.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
There is a new fangled phonograph with a wax cylinder
loaded onto it, and as you take your seats, he says,
please take your seats everyone. I hope you had a
good trip and a good night's sleep. Now, mister Hillman
left a written will, but he also recorded this version
to have played for you all here this morning. So
(18:38):
once you get sat down, we'll play the recording and
then I will answer all of your questions, at least
as much as I can.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
All right, Well, Mike Jacqueline takes her seat.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
You said down.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Apparently Vigerson's down too.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
I'm gonna sit down next to you.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
You did okay, Well, mister Siegel begins their core, and
here's how it goes. I, Kyle H. Hillman, being of
sound mind, you know what ef this. Frankly, I have
no time for this legal mumbo jumbo. I suppose you
are all wondering what you're doing here. Why I am
(19:16):
leaving all my worldly possessions, such as they are, to
a collection of cousins, nephews, nieces, and acquaintances. To Coach Shakespeare.
There are more things in heaven and earth for ratio
than are dreamt of in your philosophy. You have all
had encounters with things you cannot explain. These encounters and
(19:38):
have march you, or in some cases, perhaps scarred is
a better term. I spent most of my life selling
books and abje dar. Most of these items were touched
with strangeness, but a few of them were touched by
something more, something evil. Some of you may believe that
(19:59):
this is merely the lunacy of a sick old man,
but I tell you, many of the items I found
for my clients were touched by something evil, something otherworldly,
something that definitely once a place in our world, or
some things. I have sold dangerous items to dangerous people,
(20:22):
something I regret now, but circumstances being what they are,
I am not in a position to correct it. You, however, can't.
I have chosen each of you based on experiences you
have had and interactions we have shared. Jacqueline, many a
night we sat drinking together talking over such experiences. Vicky,
(20:44):
I spoke to you as you were growing up, when
you were asking questions about seances and the other side.
And Fabian, my nephew. You have worked for me for
quite some time looking into these mysteries, and you have
had your own experiences and we have spoken of them.
(21:08):
I have chosen each of you based on these experiences.
As I said, you each get a share of my home,
my business, and my money. However, if you will not
commit to looking for and taking care of these things,
you can sign a quick claim and walk away with
two hundred dollars right now. But if you accept, I
(21:31):
promise you will be making the world a better place.
This will not be without danger. Many doing these things
have died or gone irrevocably insane. But by your actions
you will correct my mistakes and improve the world around you.
I suggest you've begin with a local case mister Siegel
(21:54):
will hand you my ledger, and if you note the
entry circled and read, I sold of a fragment of
a book called Liber Himanus, which means the Book of
Winter in Latin, in case you don't speak, it to
a local man named Maxwell Sherwood. Since then the man
has been less and less frequently seen, and those who
(22:15):
have seen him claim he looks gaunt and haunted. Ce Max,
get the book back from him, and you can and
save him if you can. I hope you accept my invitation.
I do not care for the fate of the world
if you do not. And with that, mister Siegel turned
(22:36):
pulls the needle off the wax cylinder and turns to
you all any questions.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
So we can either get two hundred dollars today, or
we can sign on for some kind of recurring hunt.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
You can sign on to become part owner of the
Lord for the Page's Bookstore, to become part owner of
mister Hillman's extensive home and his extensive fortune. But yes,
to sign on to become part owner of these things
would require you to correct his mistakes, which would require
(23:18):
you to make regular trips to reclaim objects he feels
he is sold to the wrong people.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Heck, I'm in.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
You're in as well, VICKI did it? Is that what
I heard you say?
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (23:30):
And as for you, Fred, are you in or are
you taking the quick claim?
Speaker 3 (23:34):
I'm in?
Speaker 1 (23:35):
Alrighty with that? Mister Siegel produces the keys to both
the store and mister Hillman's home. He sets them a
copy of There are three copies of each key, one
for each of you. He sets those on a table
for you to get whenever, and then he hands over
(23:57):
the Ledger and he points to an entry that has
been circled and read. Now, I have it on screen here,
but I don't know that I can get it big
enough for you all to read, and I cannot seem
to figure out how to send it to you in discord,
so I'll simply read it. It is a collection of
(24:22):
missives letters that are stuck in the ledger, as well
as a Ledger entry.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
And I will journey for some time now. I used
to see you and Martha and I would go to church.
Of course, that was some time ago. Now with us
gone and me lay it off from the canning factory,
It's been a while since I've been to one of
Father Lehmann's sermons, and frankly, the way I've been living,
(24:52):
I am not entirely sure I would pass through the
doors without the Lord himself coming down and smiting me
dead upon the spot. I am writing to you because
after Martha's passing, I have come into some money and
there's a rare book I'm after one. I've only heard
mentioned a few times in passing, and thoughts of it
(25:15):
have all but consumed me. What say you? Would you
track down a book for an old friend who's down
on his luck? It is a very old book called
Deliver Himanis or some such Thanks Kyle in advanced, Sincerely,
Maxwell Sherwood. And then the one below it? Are we
reading that also?
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Yeah? Like I said, it's a series of left.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
August nineteen eighteen, Max. It was lovely to hear from you.
I'm sorry to hear Martha finally passed. Merculowitz's is hard
and most who contract it don't live longer than two years.
I was hoping she would be the one of the
rare cases. It is so very sad she was not.
As for the book, I have heard of it, however,
(26:00):
whole copies are almost completely unknown. It was of the
books burned by such men as Cotton Mather in their
fight against witches. So one of my friends, a finder
of books, told me some time ago he had come
by a fragment of such a book. I will reach
(26:21):
out and see if it's still if he still has it,
and what, if anything would encourage him to sell it.
Find your piece, Max Regards, kh Hilman So Timber, nineteen eighteen.
Carl Kyle, you actually know where I can locate a
copy a copy of a book that you say has
been mostly destroyed, then surely this must be providence. Clearly,
(26:45):
even if it is a fragment, it must contain the
section I need. Yes, please reach out to your associate
see what he would want for the portion he possesses.
It has been like I have been living in the
hottest of such and finally there is coolness upon my brow.
Thank you, sir, most kindly. Max Sherwood, September nineteen eighteen. Max,
(27:09):
worry not. I already sent along amissive to my associate,
which even now he could be reading and replying to. However,
I am concerned by something you said in your most
recent letter. Initially, you said you wanted the book because
it had passed your mind. However, in your last letter
you said it must surely contain the part you need.
(27:31):
Understand that I know full well how some of these
works are used, and I am most distressed over the
thought of you in acting such rights and rituals that
would be unhealthy for both you and the town. Please
use my conscience and convince me there is no ulterior
(27:53):
motive in you wanting this book. Regards, Kah Chilman, October
nineteen eighteen. Kyle, forgive my delay in replying to you.
You know how things pile up, especially when you are
one person used to being part of a couple. I
apologize for causing you concern. In my excitement and realizing
you may have already located a copy, and in my
(28:14):
haste to pen the letter, I this bot. When I
said the part I need, I meant the part that
I want to read. A treats A treatise in on
insects in cold weather. Surely this can cause you no
broad concern. I know the book's reputation as a toma
forbidden knowledge, but hidden here and there amongst such garbage
(28:37):
are nuggets of truth that might help one to plant
a garden in cold weather and the like. Please let
me know what you hear about the book. Sincerely, Max Sherwood,
October nineteen eighteen. Max, thank you for taking the time
to address my concerns. It means more to me than
you know. Good news. The private investigator I used to
(28:58):
help me locate such things has found the fragment. It
is even now on its way to me. You can
pick it up, I can deliver it at my I
can deliver it to your place for a small fee.
The book itself came cheaper than I thought, only one
hundred and fifty dollars. Let me know what you want
me to do. Regards K. H. Hillman.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
And then the ledger contains a simple entry sold to
Max Sherwood of Sargasso Springs, Alabama, one copy damaged of
the Liber Harmanas. So that is where you begin. You
had the letters, You know that Max Sherwood contains has
(29:41):
a copy of the Liber Hymanas, and you know a
little bit about what the book's about.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
Okay, I don't know about you all, but I think
we ought to go check out our new house.
Speaker 3 (29:53):
Yeah, I do agree.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
I got all three gonna head to the estate.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
His house is located on Overlooked on Overlook Hill. This
peaked roof Gothic ranch style home faces the ocean with
a curved driveway. Behind the house, there is a small
shed with a shovel and a few gardening tools, but
the number of cobwebs suggests that no one has been
in it for some time. The house has a foyer
(30:19):
with a coat rack with a sweater on it. There
is also a small gray circular rug. From the foyer,
there is a doorway into the living room, where there
are two chairs facing each other. Next to one chair
is a series of magazines, mostly industry magazines for booksellers. Also,
(30:40):
there is a small black book listed among them. Among
the names in it is the attorney Charles Siegel, and
Phil Hutzel, a private detective apparently Hillman's contact for locating
rare books. Also whose name is lifted in the book
are each of yours. It looks as his film and
(31:01):
lived here and did his own cooking, and there was
not a lot of company. Still, the kitchen smells of
clothes and cooked onions, indicating it was well used. To
the right of the living room is a short hallway
with a water closet on the north, and a small
study slash library to the south. Clearly mister Hillman enjoyed
(31:23):
reading history, just from the titles of the books kept here.
At the end of the hallways a large bedroom with
a dresser, a large comfortable bed, a small bookcase with
a well worn historical treatises. There is a phone on
the nightstand, which is again rare for the time period.
(31:43):
Let's see. There is also a bottle of the aspirin
and a radio. There's a glass of water next to
the phone that has been here. You have no idea
how in the hallway there is a cord hanging down.
When you pull the cord as seven stairs from the
descend from the ceiling and going up you will see
(32:05):
the attic has been refurbished into two comfortable guest bedrooms.
The house, however, has a touch of strangeness to it.
And when I say that, I mean just wandering through
the place, you feel a little odd. Now I am
going to need everyone to make a luck roll. Whatever
(32:26):
your power is, you're going to try to roll under
that on too, on your percentile dice.
Speaker 3 (32:32):
How do you see that the power roll.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
Powers in your second column of your stats second column,
second down, pow, pow. I wanted to roll below or
above below? Okay, I did not roll below. I had
an eighty five your roll your power?
Speaker 1 (32:52):
Wait?
Speaker 3 (32:52):
What what do all the numbers mean? I'm so confused
right now?
Speaker 2 (32:56):
Okay, so you're two that the ones that have two
numbers on it, that's your percentage or that's your tenth
place number, and then the other one is your ones.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
Well, I think he's asking about character sheet, which the
character sheet you have strength, you have size, you have power,
which is a measure of your internal ability. Let's see intelligence.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
What's the good cheer roll dat eight?
Speaker 1 (33:27):
Alrighty okay?
Speaker 3 (33:29):
So I see I see pow, I see I see pow. Okay,
I also three see three numbers next to pow. What
does this mean? I just need an answer.
Speaker 2 (33:42):
So the stats. So the first one is the actual
stat which, like mine, is seventy, the middle one is
half of that, and the end one is a fifth
of that. That's the only thing it is.
Speaker 1 (33:54):
It's just right right. Three numbers are are like, there's
a difficulty, then it'll go down. If I tell you
there's that it's very hard, then it'll go down even more.
Unless I say specifically, Hey, this is going to be
a difficult thing or a very difficult thing. We're always
going to look at that first number.
Speaker 3 (34:17):
Okay, so first number I want under or above it?
Speaker 1 (34:21):
Right under? You went under it?
Speaker 3 (34:24):
Well under it, Okay, I got zero zero. I don't
think that's under it.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
Yeah, No, zero zero is one hundred.
Speaker 3 (34:33):
Zero zero is one hundred.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
That's a critical fail.
Speaker 3 (34:36):
Damn, that is sad.
Speaker 1 (34:38):
But that's okay, it's not a big deal. Basically, after
you've you've entered the house as now Vicky is staying
upstairs and is putting her stuff in one of the
guest bedrooms. You two have wandered downstairs to the study,
or not to the study, but to the living area,
(34:59):
and and you notice that whereas before there were definitely
only two chairs facing each other, there is now a
third chair exactly the same. And the wallpaper, whereas before
it was a floral pattern, it is now just a
solid blue.
Speaker 2 (35:18):
Oh so the house has changed in the fifteen minutes
we've been here.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
Yes, nice, And.
Speaker 2 (35:27):
Do you have that you just was not impressed?
Speaker 1 (35:30):
Sorry, go ahead, you both lose too, resolve or it's
listed on your character sheet is sanity. But yes, you
have the temporary loss of to sanity. So if you
wanted us to write down whether we failed or not, no,
only Wright noted if you succeed.
Speaker 3 (35:51):
Oh, only noted if you succeed.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
Okay, yes, okay, so then yes for Lexi.
Speaker 1 (35:59):
Yeah, Lexi stayed in her room, did not stayed in
her new room. Setting it up, you two were going downstairs.
You walked into the living room and like I said,
you notice it is changed.
Speaker 3 (36:14):
Stone.
Speaker 2 (36:15):
You hold down the fort. We're gonna go start some chicken.
Speaker 3 (36:19):
I wrote down the negative to sanity.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
Awesome. Now, as you drove to the house, which you
didn't drive, you took a cap even though I believe
Fabian can drive and drive well. If not Fabian, it's Jackie.
I'm not sure which, but one of you can drive
pretty well. As you begin to investigate the area, a
bitter wind blows across what was once clearly a beach town.
(36:47):
There are a few hobos here and there in town,
not uncommon in the nineteen nineteens, unfortunately mostly huddled together
for warm Swarms of the white lady bugs or June
bugs fly hither and yawn across the city. And as
you if you ever were walking on the street. You
(37:09):
notice people peeking suspiciously out of their windows.
Speaker 3 (37:12):
At Oh well then't that swall?
Speaker 1 (37:15):
So that is the home you've inherited, and yes it
will change once upon a time. That is the strangeness
within the house. You will also enter rooms that were
not there before occasionally, but you haven't this time, but
the house re dreams itself. Let's say, what are you eating?
You crazy crazy baby? Do you see any other crazy
(37:36):
babies in the chat me? Arthur, You're a crazy teenager,
not a crazy baby. Excuse me, although you will always
be my baby. But if I'm calling you out for
a crazy baby, it's the Lexi you would be my
crazy Artur. You're only ground You're only a baby. When
you're grounded, then you're a grounded baby, which I am
(37:58):
forced to do from time to time.
Speaker 3 (38:03):
What am I doing? What are we doing right now?
Speaker 1 (38:06):
I just like completely Well in the game, you're wandering
the house. Yeah, your your new house. You have not
been to your business yet. You can go there, or
you can begin to work on the mystery. Maybe try
to find Max Sherwood's place, Maybe try to find, you know,
(38:27):
information in the newspaper about events in the city. Things
like that. But you haven't chosen to do any of
those things yet, and I feel like we're actually taking
a bit of a break. Some mom can start dinner.
Well okay, but if there's something you would like to do, Arthur,
we can certainly do that.
Speaker 3 (38:45):
I'm hot. I feel like I'm dying right now.
Speaker 1 (38:47):
Why don't you come here so I can see you?
Speaker 2 (38:49):
Yeah, we're exploring the house. Correct, Yes, so other than
the main floor and then the attic that's been turned
into two bedrooms, is there anything else inside the house
of note? No, I'm still unpacking in my room, right,
(39:11):
I guess so. Yes, that's what you say.
Speaker 1 (39:13):
You're doing.
Speaker 2 (39:14):
Well, once you not lean on that, you guys are
destroying it.
Speaker 3 (39:18):
Please stop that.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
It is not made to hold you up. Baby, you're
tearing it. Look, gotta stop that. Well, once my character
has finished kind of perusing the house, I think you
probably would be ready to go check out the bookstore.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
Also, all right, let us wait until we haven't Arthur,
and we will go and check out the bookstore. Yeah, heck,
you can even change it. I didn't mean it to
define your identity necessarily. I was just trying to come
up with a cool name, Jacqueline Raven sounded cool to me.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
No, I like it. I just like the gun better
than the jack, That's all I was saying.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
Ye, Alexi, come here so I can take he Yet
I can't.
Speaker 2 (40:03):
I can't walk through the screen you okay, guys?
Speaker 3 (40:09):
Anyway, Oh my body hurts. My muscles feel awful.
Speaker 2 (40:13):
I'm so sore from what baby.
Speaker 3 (40:16):
I don't know. I just took a shower and now
I'm sore.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
It could be how he slept at mom's. I don't
know where he's sleeping, but it may not have been
real comfortable for him, in which case he's gonna need
a night on his own bed to straighten him out.
Justse We'll take it easy. This is not a huge adventure.
Speaker 3 (40:37):
Okay, I'm ready whenever you guys are okay.
Speaker 1 (40:40):
So sorry, Arthur, you have nothing to apologize for. Jacqueline
had suggested you all had two lord for the pages
of the bookstore, so you can investigate it if you'd
like it. Does that seem like to be a thing
you'd all like to.
Speaker 2 (40:55):
Do, so I guess we're all going to the bookstore.
Speaker 1 (40:59):
All right. The small bookshop is located just off Main Street.
It is a small building with a large window that
reveals several waist high bookshelves with a handful of books
sitting covers out on the shelves. These are all at
least somewhat rare first editions or autographed editions. The few
(41:23):
books on hand are all literary, but assigned. Taped to
the front counter reads asking me about special orders. Looking
in them back, there's a copy of the Malleus Malthakarum
by Cotton Mather, clearly a special order for a client,
and a few other rare tones. Looking in the ledger
you will see a listing of books or objects he
(41:44):
has sold and who has sold them to, complete with
their addresses. There's also a stack of correspondents. Also there
is a safe. The combination which you all have is
nine to eight nineteen. Inside there is twenty five dollars
in loose bills of various varying denominations. Clearly used is
(42:07):
change for in shop purchases, so that is lore for
the pages. It is a tiny bit underwhelming for a
place that the entire series is named after. However, that
signed by the counter says everything. Their business was primarily
(42:27):
special orders, especially books that were hard to fund in
some cases books he sold were impossible to find. There
there is. As you search through the ledger, a few
names jump out of you. One is a book by
the mad arab abd Alizard. It is not named as
(42:51):
anything other than that, but it certainly if you have
any occult knowledge at all, feel free to make in
a cult role and market. If you make it, you
know that last name, and it's not a good name.
That's not a good book. It's not when people should
be perusing.
Speaker 2 (43:08):
All right, and how do well?
Speaker 1 (43:10):
If you look on your sheet, it will tell you
you're scoring a cult uh, and then you just roll
D one hundred again. It's not an extreme check or
anything like that. Just the final.
Speaker 2 (43:24):
Dry us something into Bayon. No, you're fine, We're just
talking about the store. Where's the colts out on here?
Speaker 1 (43:33):
Yeah? Right next right across to uh from that five percent,
you'll see a number forty. That is your regular percentage.
So that is what you are trying to roll under Hartford.
Speaker 2 (43:48):
Okay, Okay, LEXI got so.
Speaker 1 (43:53):
LEXI makes it. Yes, LEXI has heard of it, and
again mark it or write it down somewhere. Yeah, I
did not make that way.
Speaker 2 (44:01):
It's made both of her checks so far.
Speaker 3 (44:04):
Well, how congratulations to her.
Speaker 2 (44:06):
All right, I failed both of mine to Arthur.
Speaker 1 (44:09):
Arthur, you could borrow some of my dice if you want.
Speaker 2 (44:13):
No, it's okay, Okay, So we've heard of this the
two Lexi has heard of this book. What does she
know about it?
Speaker 1 (44:22):
That it's bad, that nothing in it is good, and
that the people who want it almost always want it
for bad purposes. Very fact that he sold a copy
is not a good thing, so that that sort of
gives you an idea that the Ledger things he's sold
are not good things and probably not sold to good people.
Speaker 2 (44:46):
Okay, well, this could get interesting.
Speaker 3 (44:51):
Or bad really bad, really fast.
Speaker 1 (44:54):
And the Ledger describes the liber Harmanus the Book Winner
as a book of rituals and spells designed to bring
about a permanent winter and maybe summon a dark entity
as well. Oh so yeah, but that's written directly in
the Ledger. You don't need to roll for that knowledge,
(45:17):
just ab it.
Speaker 2 (45:19):
So, based on the letter that we read earlier, wouldn't
we reach out to this person to see if there's
any way to get this book back.
Speaker 1 (45:28):
Or you could just go visit him his address, I mean,
you have his address from all the letters. But yes,
there is there are ways to reach out now. There's
no phone number listed, but you could certainly go in
person if.
Speaker 2 (45:42):
You want to. I think maybe tomorrow we should go
see this, mister.
Speaker 1 (45:47):
Mathi's right, Max Sherwood. Mister Sherwood.
Speaker 3 (45:53):
We need to go see Max Sherwood.
Speaker 2 (45:54):
Then is he in town or just fairly nearby?
Speaker 1 (46:00):
He's in town?
Speaker 2 (46:01):
Okay, yes, I guess we'd make plans to go and
see mister Sherwood.
Speaker 1 (46:06):
Alrighty
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