The Mystery From the Depths

a scenario for Call of Cthulhu by Christian Conkle
e-mail: conkle@mecha.com
http://www.mecha.com/~conkle
(Time= August, 1922. Place= Black Rock, Oklahoma.)

Scenario: After exploring the cavern inside of Black Rock, the Investigators discover a small entrance into a larger network of lava tubes leading into the depths of the earth.

(Keeper's Note: This scenario is intended to be a finale' to the anthology of adventures at my web-site. This adventure will reveal much to the players and to the characters and can drastically change the course of the game. It can be used either as an ending or as a beginning to a new anthology of completely different stories. Use this scenario with extreme caution!

Event 1: The Exploration. The caverns beneath Black Rock are treacherous. The investigators must test their climbing skills or fall to their peril (Climb checks every 25 feet for 500 feet. A failure indicates the character is stuck and must roll again. A critical failure indicates a terrible fall and a luck save or take 1d6 damage for every 10 feet fallen. 0/1d4 San for falling). Once at the bottom of the shaft, a tunnel winds downward (make some Navigation checks, failure indicates the characters are lost and can't get back, but don't tell them that unless they try.).

Event 2: The Cavern of the Zombie Slaves. If the investigators listen, they may hear the sound of work being performed ahead (successful Listen roll). In a large cavern ahead of them are several hundred zombie slaves using strange equipment to excavate the area. Many of the xombies are horribly mutilated, missing hands, heads, or other limbs. The bodies are all naked and close examination reveals that they have all died horrible deaths brought on by torture (0/1d8 San). They are apparently unsupervised. Some zombies are carrying rubble away from the site through a tunnel on the far end of the cavern. The entire cavern is illuminated pale blue from an atom-powered orb in its center. The zombies are ignorant of the investigators' presence and an inspection will reveal them to be apparently under some kind of post-hypnotic suggestion or mind control (successful Psychology roll).

The Zombies are of various ethnic persuasions: black, white, Indian, Mexican, males and females. Physical examination reveals them to be definitely dead (successful Biology or Medicine roll), though reainimated through unknown processes.

The smell is putrid and weak stomachs may feel ill (Conx5).

Event 3: The Underground City. Further exploration leads the investigators into a vast cavern, illuminated completely by blue light. the trail of zombie slaves leads down a zig-zagged path cut into the stone wall of this mysterious cavern. In the cavern lies an entire underground city of stone buildings, tiered ziggurats with square temples at their apexes, and towers reaching up, some even meeting the ceiling like columns. The drone of machinery fills the cavern but not a single living soul can be seen save the minless horrors that shamble to and from the metropolis (0/1d4 Sanity loss for seeing the city).

Huge mushrooms and fungi adorn the rooftops of many of the flat square structures, yet no doors or windows can be seen.

Event 4: The Discovery. Following the slaves into the city, the investigators find streets and alleys and pottery and stone work lining the cublical houses built from black stone with fine gold inlay. None of the homes have doors or windows save for tiny slots at the top and bottom for air. Study of the ceramic work reveals it to be unlike any found in North America, or anywhere else for that matter (successful Archeaology roll). A Botanist will know that the fungi are strange mutant forms that do not occur natrually (Successful Botany roll)(. After a little exploring, a large commotion can be heard ahead as a party of 5 guards ride up on their Gna-Yothn mounts to confront the investigators. Each guard is clad in a fiber toga or tunic and wears a headpiece. Each is armed with a staff that glows. They are pointed menacingly at the investigators. The leader shouts at them in an unknown tongue, but the investigators mysteriously know his language! He is sending telepathically!

"We have been notified of your presence! You are itruders here. You are to be taken before an audience of the elders whence your fate shall be determined! Hiding is futile and resistance is usless! Should you defy us or attempt to escape, you will be destroyed!"

Should any of the investigators try to escape, they will be run down and attacked by the guards wielding Atomic Lances (60% to hit, 1d10 damage per charge, up to 10 charges)!

Otherwise, the investigators will be led to a large ziggurat and instructed to stand near it. Three of the guards dismount and, grasping the investigators' shoulders, lead into the temple, passing through SOLID STONE!

They are led into an audience chamber illuminated by several atomic laterns. Dangling from the ceiling are innumerable yellow chains terminating in gruesome metal hooks!

Event 5: The Temple of Elders. Before the investigators are a set of Five stone thrones and a lowered dias. Around them are ampitheatre type seats. People begin materializing through the floors and take their seats. A quiet din fills the chamber. Five slender males appear from behind the thrones and take their seats, the gathering grows silent. Each of the five males have ankle-length braided white hair or longer. The investigators are led to stand on the dias which is stained with centuries of dark blood. Chains of a strange yellow metal are at each corner, terminating in manacles. The center male speaks, telepathically as before.

"You are tresspassers here. You are the children of the Mi-Go! Your helixes are tainted with evil. You are the unwitting pawns of the Fungi from Yuggoth! For this, your fate is DEATH! We Elders are not without compassions, however. You will be afforded an opprotunity for redemption. Choose the manner of your defense, and a postponement of your inevitable doom may be granted.. Choose.."

Trial by Torture!
or
Judement of the Father of Serpents!

Event 6a: Trial by Torture. Those electing trial by torture are then chained to the dias while the others are taken outside by the guards.

The victim is then stripped naked by having their clothes cut off by strangely curved yellow knives. They are forced to kneel before the council.

Large hooks are attached to the victim's back. the hooks are connected to chains which hoist the victim into the air and supply a painful electric current. A hooded figure emerges from the floor, equipped with various implements dangling from his belt. The victims screams can be heard even outside the temple.(Conx5 to remain conscious, 1/1d8 San loss)

(Keeper's note: At this point, take the victim outside and describe the above. Have him scream at one point and return into the room wimpering and sobbing and hide in another room. At this point, take the next player outside and repeat the process. You wouldn't be-LIEVE how effectively scary this technique is!)

The next victim is then brought inside and sees no trace of the previous victim save for fresh pools of blood on the dias. The same technique is applied once more.

Event 6b: Judement of Yig! This is the least desired choice. The Investigators are taken to another pyramid, this one having stairs ascending to a square structure at it's apex. Onlookers rise out of the ground and through walls to observe, with morbid glee, the festivities.

The victims are led, as a group, up the stairs and are thrown through the wall of the square cubicle. The interious of the cube is bare marble, save for a carpet of skeletons and bones drenched in the reek of decay. Several trinkets lie scattered around the corners of the room (Spot Hidden roll), most are amulets or necklaces of the strange Tulu-Metal.

Time passes mystiously by. Eventually, an unlucky soul will find a huge white rattesnake coled around their leg (continous Luck rolls until one fails). Unless the investigators are swift, the snake will attack first. The investigators must survive the snake to pass the test (Every round, the characters must dodge or be bitten. the White Snake of Yig attackes the unlucky victim until it is killed. The character who passed their luck test is not attacked and has passed the test. Odds are, this will definitely kill one player character.) Eventually, the snake either kills it's victim and disappears into the sea of bones or is killed. The survivors, if any, are retrieved and taken back to the audience hall.

Event 7: The Survivors. The survivors are reunited in the audience hall. They are now clothed in the robes like the cavern dwellers. A gong is rung behind the thrones. The chief elder rises and waves a hand at the investigators. Again, he speaks and sends...

"You have proven your worthiness to survive! Your sentence remains death, your helixes cannot be altered. You have earned, however, a brief respite from your fates. You will not die today, or tomorrow, but someday, and that is why you are inferior! However, you know of our existence. Your knowledge would serve the Fungi fro Yuggoth, so it must remain safely here. You will stay with us. You will be come Kn'Yani! Zothaggua has spoken and His will is Law! Praise N'Grath! Praise Tulu! Praise Hastur! Praise Father Yig!"

"As a Kn'Yani, you will be given limited instruction in our ways. you will learn the form of the ether! You will learn to ride the Gnaa-Yothn! You will learn to send with your minds! You will learn of the evils of the Fungi from Yuggoth! You will learn the power of the Great Old Ones! Yig, N'Grath, Tulu, Hastur, and others! But all in time, for much will remain secret to you, even into your withering years! For now, you are to be taken to your new home, which has been made ready for you."

At that, everyone snaps to attention as the elders rise from their seats. After the elders disappear through a wall, everyone disappears into their seats, the Investigators are lead out of the Pyramid, down the street, and into a cubicle.

(Keeper's note- At this point, your campaign may take a strong turn. Information beyond the character's comprehension is about to be made available to them. Cthulhu Mythos scores will rise, Sanity will fall drastically. They may choose to live amongst these twisted misanthropes and like it. That can be fine, and accomadation is made in this scenario for those types. If your want to rein in your players and get them back to normal, They'll really have to hate it and they'll have to try to escape, which may mean death. In my campaign, the characters opted to learn the secrets and later accept an offer to join the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign, the outcome of this scenario, making them servants of an occult consipiracy on the surface. If this campaign isn't for you, get them out now!)

Event 8: Divulgence. The living area arranged for the investigators is plush. There are many pillows made of Gnaa-Yothn wool. The walls and the cilings are bare save for small air holes and metal hooks in the corners. There is a small storage area for their equipment. As their escorts leave, the investigators have a few moments to speak. Soon, however, the form of Smith, clad in an army uniform, riss from the floor. He speaks in a strange accent.

"Good evening. Welcome to my home, Kn'Yan. I should have realized our meeting was inevitable. Our people on the surface have been monitoring your activities with interest for some time. Your audacious curiousity far outshines that of the rest of your pitiful species. What would have frightened a normal surface-dweller only encouraged you! Fascinating. I have been assigned to integrate you into our society. I, of all my people, know the most of your culture. I will be your interpreter until you learn of sending and your instructor in all cultural matters. Remember, you are not on the surface, you are in the last bastion of pure humanity. Things are different here, as you will learn. Now, it is my duty to answer any questions you may have..."

(At this point, entertain any question regarding Kn'Yan and what has happened to them. To recap, the head was sent by Smith, whose actual name is Dn'Zavi, to discourage the investigators from coming to Black Rock. They Kn'Yani, who have dwelt underground for centuries, are at war with the Mi-Go, the Fungi from Yuggoth, who have genetically tampered with surface humans in order to use them as pawns and slaves. The last official contact the surface has had with Kn'Yan was in 1600 with Spanish explorers. They are immortal, communicate telepathically, and have the ability to pass through solid material. They also posses high technology in the form of the atomic lanterns, atomic lances, the ability to re-animate the dead, and genetic manipulation. They resemble pale plains indians physically with large over-protruberant eyes. They grow their hair very long and braid it, the longer the braid being a relative indication of age and experience. They are governed by the five members of the Council of Elders, who judge all aspects of Kn'Yan life. The Kn'Yani have grown bored with immortality and have turned their attentions to bizarre and pervese explorations of pain and suffering. They habitually inflict themselves with unspeakable tortures for enterainment, thus the bloody hooks in every dwelling, only to be healed for some more with advanced Kn'Yani medical science. The Characters will be expected to perform the same acts, even though they are mortal. If they happen to die, that is the price of mortality, something the Kn'yani see as a flaw, mortal pawns and captured vagrants and others who have failed to survive the torture so are reanimated to be used as slaves. Below Kn'Yan, there are even deeper cities, long lost and abandoned. They are shunned, even by the Kn'Yani. Keep some things secret, of course, like the Brotherhood, or their consipiracies, but tell them anything they NEED to know. For more information on Kn'Yan, read "The Mound" by Zelia Bishop or check out the "Encylopeadia Cthulhuiana".)

The following weeks are spent learning Kn'Yani ways.

Ride Gnaa-Yothn (base 5% or Ride x 1/2%)
Yig, Father of Serpents (Cthulhu Mythos + 2%)
Tulu (Cthulhu Mythos + 5%)
Hastur (Cthulhu Mythos + 5)
Kn'Yan History (History, Occult, Mythos + 2%, Sociology, Anthropology, Archaeology)

Event 9: The Options. Smith, whose Kn'Yani name is Dn'Davi, explains that there is no hope of ever returning to the surface. A thorough investigation (Psychology, Fast Talk, or Perusasion roll) will reveal that there one option, however. The investigators may possibly join the forces of the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign!

Otherwise, they may live their lives in the city of Tsath or they may join the exploratory teams that delve deeper into the caverns below, to red-litten Yoth and the Black Gulf of N'Kai.

If they try to escape, they will be hunted and disintegrated. the entrance that the Fungi created has been sealed off. No one will find them, as several mutilated and badly decomposed bodies have been left at the floor of the chasm with some of their gear.

(Keeper's note: if you don't want your players to be pawns of the Brotherhood, change the last paragraph, give them a chance to escape, let them try, but if they do, make sure that they are hounded by the Brotherhood forever, making them great bad guys! Also, don't let their discovery be revealed to easily. Most of the world will scoff at a subterranean city under Oklahoma! They will be discredited, fired, or kicked out of their homes and families for making such a rediculous claim.)

If they opt to stay, they may spend their time exploring the caverns and lost Kn'Yan cities. They may study any books they brought and may even study a limited number of the Kn'Yani books if they learned the language. Much can be learned about the world down here, and many years can be spend with the Kn'Yani, so long as they like and survive the self-mutilation, gladitorial sport, and hallucinogenic orgies they will be expected to participate in.

Event 10a: The Exploration. If they opt for the Exploratory Teams, they are equipped with atom-pwered searchlight and accompany a team of 3 Kn'Yani into the bowells of the Earth.

Their exploration leads them to Yoth. They see large basaltic cities like the ones described in The Curse of the Idol. Huge statues of a giant Toad-God pay hmage to Tsathoqqua. The explorers relate the tale of Yoth and the Serpent-Folk who once lived here (see Encyclopeadia Cthulhuiana).

At some point, the exporers find a huge door with carven runes that a trained occultist will recognize as Aklo script (Occult roll). A large icon of Tsathoqqua mounts the top of the frame. The Kn'Yani inform that this is the entrance to Black-Litten N'Kai. It's entrance is forbidden as is bringing back any images of Tsathoqqua.

Any occultist worth their chalk (Occult roll or Cthulhu Mythos roll) will recall that Tsathoqqua grants powers and spells. After some encouragement (Persuasion roll) the explorers will reluctantly open the doors. Once open, the adventurers enter a dark corridor that leads them down a steep pit of stairs carved out of the blackest basalt.

At the bottom of the stairs, everything is illuminated by an eerie black-lit glow. Colors are made vibrant, whites glow bluish, etc. All around them are large golden statues of Tsathoqqua guarding piles and piles of gold and platinum ingots. A large kylix, similar to a bird feeder, rests in the center of the room. Several other tunnels branch off in several directions, each similarly lit. Upon entering the room for any distance, a large slimy form rises fromt he kylix. If the investigators flee immediately, they are safe. Otherwise they are attacked by a Formless Spawn of Tsathoqqua. Atomic Lances WILL harm the creature. Event 10b: The Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign. If the Investigators learn of the Brotherhood they can try to convice Dn'Zavi to allow them to join (Persuade roll).

He explains that joining will not be easy, but indeed, should they do so, it would be advantageous to have them be associated with it.

If they agree, they must take a vow of silence regarding the lost city and must serve the bidding of their masters. They must also pledge an unwavering allegiance to Hastur and become acolytes in His belief.

Having done so, they will placed unconscious and will wake up in their respective residences in Arkham, each with a note that reads...

"We will keep in touch...

Possibly the end, or the beginning?