Chapter Twelve

Meanwhile, Redvers-Ainderbury, having collected Albrecht from his unwelcome visit at the local village near Edrachillis Base, was shocked to find himself and his companion placed under military arrest on the orders of the previously-helpful Admiral Potter.

Meanwhile, Redvers-Ainderbury points out to the soldiers arresting him and Albrecht that they need a charge to take him into custody. While the soldiers contemplate this and R-A’s sten gun they seem to become rooted to the spot (courtesy of Albrecht’s Hold Person spell), so our two heroes make their exit and seek out Admiral Potter’s office.

Simultaneously, while Meridian is being held at gunpoint on the bridge of the surface vessel, an Unseen Servant is setting some fire controls.

The Aboleth approaches Prototype Three. P3 looses a sub-killer torpedo at it. It does not like this and is clearly injured. Two crewmen aboard the Prototype fall unconscious. As Radshaw sets up a second shot the warning claxons go off indicating that main external pressure seals are being breached – from the inside. Crannog recalls the opened hatch on Prototype Four; clearly the aboleth dominated a submariner to flood the vessel, leaving the crew with the options of breathing in its mucous and becoming its slaves or drowning. Revell and Crannog race off to try and prevent the already-flooding ship from foundering.

Redvers-Ainderbury and Albrecht reach the Admiral’s office with a modicum of fisticuffs. Assured by Albrecht that Potter has been drugged and is not in his right mind (R-A is still thinking Russian saboteurs here) R-A gains access to the guarded area by the expedient of blowing an outer wall down. Albrecht blankets the area with a Purify Food and Drink. This is partially effective since the Admiral ceases to be dominated by the already-distracted aboleth but find he can no longer breathe air. Albrecht pushes the man’s head into his fishtank (to R-A’s dismay).

Confused by the strange countermands coming over their radio the crew of the surface vessel do not notice what is happening until a cluster of depth charges is loosed by Meridian’s Unseen Servant.

Just as the aboleth has got its crushing tentacles around Prototype Three it is rocked by nearby depth charge explosions. Meridian, unable to see the displays properly, does not know that P3 is also in the area. Fortunately it is mainly shielded by the bulk of the monster, although the severe rocking does make it easier for Crannog and Revell to find and subdue the two dominated crewman who have already flooded all the rear compartments. Radshaw notes that the creature is pressed up hard against missile bays three and four…

The aboleth has a calamari experience as two blessed torpedoes hammer it from the hull. With its death the effects of its psionic slime pass, leaving a wet and confused Admiral Potter gasping beside his goldfish tank. Prototype Three is in a bad way but six hours of emergency engineering work [and a % role of 34] from Radshaw limps the vessel home as its oxygen supply expires. By that time the surviving crewmen and scientists from Prototype Three have swum to the surface with no memories of what has happened to them while they have been aboleth slaves except for vague memories of digging something and lifting a big stone out of some mud.

The official explanation is that a foreign vessel was sabotaging the Prototype Tests, and that the base was infiltrated by a spy who used psychotropic drugs to target key base personnel. Albrecht is briefly suspected. The MHC however conclude that the aboleth has been summoned in the same way that a Pit Fiend was at Waterloo and a Daemon was at King’s Dulcarnain to assist in the recovery of something important. The aboleth simply decided to stay on.

Crannog retains some bits of aboleth for his collection.

Erounobas, Prince of Unicorns, is not in a happy mood. Never too fond of humanity in general and Monster Hunters in particular he was summoned by the ancient methods and forced to surrender the item placed in his guardianship millennia ago. That item was then used to compel him to destroy the human intruders in the ancient wood. Now, at Emmanuelle’s suggestion, Genevieve wishes him to leave the MHC alone and destroy Fauçonburg. Erounobas swerves round Emmanuelle and thunders towards the surprised Compte. The unicorn’s advanced magic resistance washes outwards to counter any spells which might stop him and his specialised anti-magic shell surrounds the undead Fauçonburg to prevent his departure or the use of any more unpleasant powers (and released the Club from its entanglements). A +5 horn of undead disruption does the rest.

Something snaps inside Genevieve’s mind and she feels incredibly liberated. The unicorn vanishes with a snort. Flaxton goes to Fauçonburg’s withered body and offers up a Death Prayer.

Emmanuelle searches the body and finds the fragments of a shattered mirror. A chequebook in the name of Alucard (Fauçonburg did not get the joke, by the way) and used railway tickets indicate something of Fauçonburg’s actions over the past few days, and would be enough to implicate him as present at King’s Dulcarnain, Waterloo station, Edrachillis Bay, and Strumble Head. He has also visited Weymouth in Dorset, Spurn Point in Yorkshire, Rhyl in Denbeigh, Leamington in Warwickshire, and Frome in Somerset. He has another ticket to Strumble Head and a ferry ticket to Wexford, Ireland, which have not yet been used. He also has a series of spell components consistent with being a summoner of around eight or ninth level, including some sample bottles which detect as evil, and an unholy symbol shaped like a pierced eye. There is no sign of the item retrieved from Erounobas.

Dawn and Flaxton do a little undead analysis on Fauçonburg. Previously he has been found to be a devil, known to occupy new earthly bodies each generation (from his first, the basis for the legendary Bluebeard). He was last seen vanishing into the mists of Ravenloft, the demiplane of dread. Now, however, he appears to have been transformed into one of the Ancient Dead – a mummy (if he’d been bandaged; but the same class of creature). He burns nicely however.

A little way down the hill Qayrawun finds the terrified Deborah Stankey bound to a tree and effects a rescue. Later she will describe the madman who murdered her family in front of her, captured her and used her in the unicorn-summoning ritual as constantly speaking to the mirror in his pocket. He called it "milady". The unicorn came and was compelled to give up something like a set of leather straps with silver buckles, which it did with much reluctance. Deborah does not know what became of this item. She is much traumatised by her ordeal, especially after having been guarded by zombies since her kidnapping. Aveyard is surprisingly gentle with her and helps to soothe her fears.

Magda tries to detect magical emanations to explain where Angherad and her Voodoo Starstone Staff have gone. She is able to detect residual teleport energies, which Selkirk in turn is able to track to the other end of the teleport journey, a clearing by a forest pool some mile and a half off. It is an hour or more since Angherad’s disappearance before his calculations are complete and the team reach the spot. There, Qayrawun, Flaxton, and Magda all lose one sanity point as they see the slowly deliquescing mound of non-Euclidean carcass melting into the waters. There is a second, smaller, pile of goo some distance away. A Servitor of the Elder Gods has died here, but it will have melted to nothingness before any autopsy can be attempted. [Note: The MHC knows that when Angherad takes physical damage she is sometimes protected by one of the Servitors of the Elder Gods]. Dawn arranges a cleansing blessed rain to remove the last taints of its foul presence.

I am assuming that the next chapter begins with the MHC being able to deploy where they like. A thorough local search for Angherad in Milton of Campsie has proved fruitless. A player discussion and some agreement on what teams go where would be really helpful. Does a team go to Ireland? To Strumble Head? Elsewhere? We are probably three chapters off the conclusion, so it is important that investigations are undertaken to answer all those nasty nagging questions.