Call of Colthulhu: Team One's Adventures

Flashpoint comes to first. It's a strange sensation, when your last waking moment was amid a storm of eldritch flame, fighting some kind of insane immortal spirit, and the next being surrounded by fluffy pillows and warm, soft blankets. He opens his eyes groggily, and immediately he notices that the heavy burns he received in the fight seems to have vanished, leaving healthy skin behind. He's lying on a bed, not terribly opulent but comfortable enough, with a dark wooden bed frame carved in flowing organic shapes, and blankets and pillows colored a fiery orange. If he would look up, a pony - a pegasus mare, with a dull purple mane and a greyish coat - is sitting at the corner of the room he's in, apparently distracted by a book of some sort. To his left and right, Torque and Aurora, each also showing some signs of coming to, though none of them appear really conscious quite yet.

Image Reference For Mare:

Flashpoint frowns- he's unsure of what's happening, since he knows he would not have gone to bed with these two. Maybe the mare in the corner. As his groggy mind starts to remember what happened prior to his nap, he closes his eyes and thinks for a moment, and then throws the covers of the bed off violently, to both gain the attention of the mare and rouse the other two. "I just had the dumbest dream. He was there, and she was there... but you weren't." He directs his eyes at her. "And we weren't here. So where are we now, and who are you?"

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Obligatory general perception, on the room and the mare:
1d20= 17+11=28

The mare looks up and smiles faintly. "Ah. You're up, excellent. My name is Moon Gazer, welcome to our humble abode. We're terribly sorry for the trouble you had to go through in retrieving the Giver's Gem, I understand there was something of a conflict with the gem's host that you had to resolve. In any case, we treated your wound as compensation, and are willing to answer most questions that you must be wanting to ask right now. Although, I would be grateful if we could wait for your friends, too. Wouldn't want to exclude."

As though according to script, Flash hears a stirring from the beds, as Aurora and Torque drift to consciousness.

Torque opened his eyes, looking around to gauge his surroundings. "Well, I'm not dead, that's a good thing." He looked over at Flashpoint. "Hey, there. After you got knocked out, we managed to beat the Giver. Aurora got the last strike in, and then the Aspiration popped up to seal it back in the gem. So...yeah." He looked over at the grey pegasus. "And I'm guessing you're one of the Aspriation's friends. My name is Torque, pleasure to meet you. Did anyone manage to grab my bag and the robot parts? They're easy to fix, but hard to...replace..." Torque frowned as he continued looking around the room. "Um...is Skyline around?"

"Ugh, did someone get the number of that train...?" Aurora muttered, looking around. "I...Wha-...Did we win or not? Those last few moments are a little vague for me...Where are we, anyhow...And...Who're you?" She was a little disoriented. Passing out and waking up elsewhere did that on occasion.

"Mr. Szarnowski is correct. The Aspiration is a colleague of mine who handles outside affairs while I keep a handle on things closer to home." Moon Gazer smiles. "Once again, My name is Moon Gazer. The Aspiration saw fit to leave Skyline in the institute after dressing his wounds, for their own medical staff to handle. I would rather not involve more ponies, let alone one with affiliations with the local royal guard."

"You must be rather confused. Please, follow me to retrieve your belongings. I will explain what I can on the way." She gestures for the ponies to following, moving towards the only door in the room.

Flashpoint, once he has had a moment to properly gauge the situation, notices a number of things in the room. Firstly, the amount of draconic themed decor on the walls, the surface carefully chiseled to give the impression of scales. Secondly, the mare herself has several items on her that also bears a strong correlation to dragons; her tail is interwoven with little reptilian scales, and she wears a pendant with a jeweled inlay, the gem shaped to resemble the slit eye of a dragon.

"...Right then, good to hear he's alright, at least." Torque rolled out of the bed and started to follow Moon Gazer, trying to piece together some of what he had learned. "...So, I'm guessing you and the Aspiration try to find and secure dangerous artifacts and entities like the Giver, yes?"

Torque was...cautiously optimistic. On the one hoof, the Aspiration had taken the time make sure they all received medical attention, as opposed to simply securing the Giver and leaving their group to their fate. On the other hoof, it had been stalking them for a little while, and...well, quite frankly, he wasn't quite sure that the Aspiration was any less alien than the Giver was. He glanced around to see if he could determine any details about their location and host.

Rolling Perception...14 (1d20) + 9 = 23 (mainly to notice what Flashpoint did).

"You could say that." Moon Gazer says. "I assume you have heard of the rumors going about Baltimare. Ponies going missing, whispers in the night, mysteries afoot. The Aspiration have always worked to prevent this, and my predecessor and myself work to assist their endeavors."

Pushing open the door, she leads the group into a long hallway. "Not only to protect your world, but also to preserve our way of life." The draconic scale decoration is even more apparent, and Torque also determines that the supporting arches holding up the ceiling may be a stylization of a rib cage. "Your princesses never appreciated us much, and I'm afraid the feeling, for the most part, is mutual."

She leads them down the hallway, towards a room at the end of the hallway. There is a moment of silence as Moon Gazer looks at the party expectantly; she's waiting for questions to answer.

"Wait, wait...You said 'your' world there. Does that mean you're not exactly a native?" It was an obvious question, but it was one that needed to be asked. If that was true..Well, a significant number of assumptions about the way things were had just been shattered, and not regarding the individual they were talking to.

"Hmm." Moon Gazer hums, thinking for a moment. "I would be lying if I said that I'm not Equestrian by birth. The Aspiration's hosts as well. I had meant world in a more... metaphorical sense, although I suppose I do represent a bridge between Equis and the Elder Things."

"Well, if you're willing to answer a few questions..." Torque instinctively started to reach for his notebook, but stopped when he remembered his bags aren't with him.

"Ahem. 1. What *is* the Aspiration, exactly? I'm guessing that it's some sort of hivemind entity that uses ponies a bit like puppets. But why would it choose to be Baltimare's protector, and...who would willingly become one of its hosts?

2. What do you know about Mirrored Clear? We’re trying to figure out what she’s been planning and where she is now. I’m guessing that she copied one of the Aspiration’s cloaks to sneak in…wherever “here” is and steal the Giver. But I can't figure out what she would hope to gain from something that tries to dominate anypony it encounters, through mind manipulation or sheer force.

3. What exactly are these "Elder Things"? Is it some catch-all term for "strange powerful beings", or is there some common link between them? I mean, we've encountered an agent of Xenith, we think Mirrored's working with someone called Nythzul, and the Giver screamed about something named Azathoth. Is Baltimare some strange meeting place between these superpowered beings that nopony's ever heard of?"

Moon Gazer licks her lips contemplatively. "Those are... complicated questions."

For a moment it seems as though she would brush them off, as she moves to open a set of doors that the group has come to a stop in front of, at the end of the hallway. She enters, leading the group into a breathtaking sight. The door leads to a large, circular chamber, walls decorated by detailed murals of various sights, but more impressively, the ceiling of the chamber is almost entirely taken up by a lifelike relief sculpture of an eye. Seemingly draconic, the slit eye appears to be made from countless overlapping scales, each painstakingly carved and detailed to the point where the ponies get the uncomfortable feeling that the eye is watching them.

"This is Dason. The All Seeing Eye, Keeper of All Knowledge." Moon Gazer says, bowing her head respectfully. "He is the teacher of all things, the font of all intelligence. A being of near unlimited power, as old as time itself, a child of the endless void that simply is. We call their kind the Old Gods. To answer your question, seeker, these are the Elder Things. In the turn of the cosmic wheel, ponies, our immortal rulers, even our world, are wholly inconsequential. Our history, a single blink in the eye of the universe. But presiding above this, above the minuscule lives we live, are the Elder Things, who are older than time. They are more deserving of worship than any spirit on this mortal world, and so, we worship."

"The Aspiration is a guardian of knowledge, as is our duty as servants of Dason. Should knowledge of our... lifestyle, be leaked, the princesses would come down with an iron hoof, as they have in ages past. The bravest of our brothers and sisters, committed to their cause, volunteer to keep our presence a secret. Keeping the populace safe is but a side effect, albeit a very fortunate one. I do not know how our kind survives in other cities, but we are hard pressed to conceal the presence of the others in this city as is, we don't have the spare effort to keep tabs on other branches of our church. So no, Baltimare is not special in that there are elder worshippers inhabiting them."

"As for Mirrored Clear... she is resourceful. She is driven, determined, and most definitely shielded by a powerful entity. If not, the Aspiration should have been able to intercept her." Moon Gazer sighs. "The Giver's release was... unfortunate. We do not know if she had someone within our ranks, or if she truly is powerful enough to conceal herself from the Aspiration, but whatever the method, she, or perhaps an ally of hers, came to our vault, and smuggled out a number of powerful artifacts. The Giver's prison being one of them."

"Which... brings me to the reason I requested the Aspiration bring you here." Moon Gazer taps her hooves together. "Things have... changed, since the mass coma. Something happened that has obscured our sight. We used to have eyes over the entire city, but now... the Aspiration can barely keep up with a single rogue cultist. We need to know what is going on, knowledge has always been the church of Dason's greatest advantage over the other cults. Without forewarning... there is a storm coming, I can feel it. I'm afraid this time, Dason's grace will not be enough to save this city."

“…Well, this is quite a bit to take in,” Torque said, staring up at the giant eye sculpture. “I’m guessing that you want us to continue investigating the goings-on in Baltimare to try and stop this mess from getting worse, yes?” Torque sighed. “I must confess, this is most definitely not where I thought a simple “missing-pony” case would be leading to. But…if powerful malevolent entities like the Giver and Xenith are harming innocent ponies, I’m not sure I can stand idly by. Besides, we promised to do our best to find Mirrored Clear, which most likely means getting further into…”this world”, I suppose…”

“A few more questions, if it’s not too much trouble.”

1. You said that there are other cults operating in Baltimare. Could you give us a rundown of the groups you’re aware of?
2. Do you have a list of some of the other artifacts that Mirrored Clear helped steal from you?
3. …This Dason isn’t like Xenith, is he? We had a bad experience with one of his followers, a lich who stole memories for each question asked (and he wouldn’t even bother actually answering them, the cheat).
4. ..You don’t think that one of these Elder Things is *responsible* for the mass coma, do you? I mean, if that were true, then…well, it would establish a sense of perspective for what we’ve gotten ourselves into.
5. Are the Princesses actually aware of the Elder Things? Er, not to cast dispersions on Dason, but why would they wish to stop your group whenever they find you?"

"It is a lot to take in, I know." Moon Gazer scratches the back of her head apologetically. "But right now, you three are our best chance at resolving... whatever it is Mirrored Clear has stirred up. She will not listen to one of our kind, you however... but yes, answers. I did promise those."

"There are two others that immediately come to mind. There is the following of Al'Th'Ki, the unending water. They are... well. You would be better off not running into them, to say the least. Their behaviour tends towards the typical cult modus operandi. Chanting, animal sacrifices. The like. The other cult is... highly enigmatic. Our agents have met only a handful of times over the course of Baltimare's history. We are not certain of their patron, but unlike the Al'Th'Ki, they cover their tracks well, and appear to be more peaceful in disposition... although, speaking as a cultist myself, I would recommend caution."

"As for what she has taken from our vaults... there are a few that are more common magical artifacts, simply powerful thaumaturgic batteries and the like. She also stole a few ancient tomes and spellbooks, but we cannot be sure exactly which. Our library may not be the most organized facility."

"I find it interesting that you would have encountered Xenith, as it happens to be an offspring of lord Dason." Moon Gazer says, producing, seemingly out of nowhere, the spirit board that the group had relinquished from Zanbar. "Far less powerful. Far less experienced. A young god, as it were. When channeled by unworthy hooves, well. It does not know to hold back. I must be clear now; none of these Elder beings are genuinely 'malevolent', at least not pure ones. They are simply... aloof. Uncaring. They could care less about their follower's actions as long as they are showered with praise and worship. If a follower of an elder being acts wrongly... blame the pony, not the god."

"Regarding the mass coma... in truth, even we only have an inkling as to what occurred. I suppose, in a way, that the Elder beings were responsible. As you have seen, even a halfbreed like the Giver has immense power within their domain. As the Giver is a descendant of Dason, albeit diluted by several generations, it still holds great sway over knowledge, and can easily grant you the knowledge you desire most. A pure Old God, such as the likes of Dason, could crush ponykind without breaking a sweat... although for some reason, Equus seems to be protected against a full manifestation by an Old One. The most likely cause of the mass coma that we can think of is that an Old God, definitely more powerful than most to have even partially breached the mysterious barrier around Equus, attempted to manifest on our planet. The psionic backlash from such an event would have been devastating and maybe, just maybe, be strong enough to knock a quarter of the population out cold."

"And yes. The Princess are aware of the Elder things. Our... kind, have come under threat of the royal sisters in the past. We are not sure how they know, but for as long as our leaders can remember, they have always been opposed to our beliefs. Perhaps it is the danger our kind represents, or that they fear we would attract the attention of our masters, but for whatever reason, they have deemed us a threat. With the number of times our brethren have been stamped out, we are not eager to negotiate with them, either."

"I think I'm following so far. It makes sense. If you start poking around too hard, the princesses go all 'burn the witch,' whereas we have no such connections, and can do what we want, within reason. Whoa, wait, halfbreed? What's the Giver's other half? Fire? Hate? ...Arrogance? It was pretty tough, but it talked a lot bigger game than it could back up." Aurora blinked, thinking. "Honestly, the tomes are the most dangerous things she stole if so. Batteries can be a problem. But...Well...We have a lot of things to figure out. Hmm. If one of these Old Gods tried to bust into our plane...Hmm...That changes a lot. I'd say we waded off into the ocean here, but this is more like getting pulled in. If we'd done nothing, no doubt it would eventually be able to get in all the way.

Torque took a moment to contemplate the answers Moon Gazer had given. "Well, if Moon Gazer's correct, we and all of ponykind are "in the ocean", it's just we've started to notice our hooves getting wet. And we don't even know what other "big players" are represented, apart from Mirrored probably working with some entity called "Nythzul" who has connections to some city of madness in the Crown of Ice called Eldriia." He looked over at Moon Gazer. "I don't suppose that name rings a bell, does it?"

"Eldriia is the first city of the great ones. In aeons past, it seemed that there was once a great city of unearthly splendor, set into the crown of the world like a jewel in the planet's brow. Carvings in its halls tell the tale of godly beings dwelling within its walls, but notes are hazy, as most ponies cannot withstand the city's awesome power for more than a couple hours at a time, even after the inhabitants left long in the past." Moon Gazer bites her lip. "Honestly, I am not sure exactly what Nythzul is. I would assume another Old God, but..." She shakes her head. "Remind me to pass one of our abridged lore tomes to you after we get to your equipment. They can explain more in detail and you can read it in your own time. In the mean time, are there any questions regarding the matter at hoof, the investigation, that you have to ask? I'm sure you are as eager as I to find Mirrored Clear before the situation worsens any further."

"I think that's a wonderful idea." Flashpoint speaks towards the ceiling, having laid back once the conversation started getting particularly magic/sciency. "On the other hoof, if you guys are gonna keep talking, then I might go back to my nap. Bed's comfy."

"Please, Flashpoint, if I could have you attention for just a little more. Your experience as a guard may factor into this." Moon Gazer comes to a stop and taps the ground with her hoof. Immediately, all of the party member's personal belongings (sans spirit board and giver gem) drop down in front of them. A book also appears, hovering slightly in mid air.

"Here are your belongings; we don't exactly have much in terms of material supplies down here so I'm afraid we can't help you much more besides providing information. Right now, we have a clue in as to Deep Secret's whereabouts; she is a prominent figure in our circles, a very influential and intelligent preacher and priestess of a minor subterranean deity. What stake she has in this, or what plans she has, we don't know; but what we do have is her location. A few hours after Mirrored Clear's reported disappearance, she left the school grounds and met with a few of her contacts. We have it on good authority that they may be in a safe house, preparing to leave the city. I think you already know that it is imperative for Deep Secret to be retrieved... If she leaves, a vital lead goes with her."

"The other two pieces of evidence; the spirit board and the lost city, we may need to reference information from our repositories first." Moon Gazer takes a steadying breath. "I'm in no position to ask for favors again; one of our agents' actions led to you having to fight a very powerful entity, after all. But I must ask anyway, would you be willing to intercept Deep Secret before she can escape?"

"I don't follow your reasoning here- and not just about my being a guard coming in handy after you left Skyline back at school for the very same reason." Flash sits up and then stands, retrieving his stuff- mainly, his horseshoes. "If you have a good idea of where she is, a whole network of mystical cultists, and what I assume is some kind of teleportation magic that you can use to get places quickly, why don't you just surround her safe house and pick her up when she comes out? What do you expect us to do there that your cult buddies can't?"

"We had a network of mystical cultists. When our vision went dark, our influence was weakened. Many sensed that we were no longer good for an alliance." Moon Gazer says. "And the ones who were left, mostly those who follow Dason like us, are unwaveringly pacifistic. We do not have enough hosts for the Aspiration, either. We simply lack the means to confront anyone of substantial ability such as Deep Secret. Hence, we are... limited, in our available responses."

"And on a practical level, teleporting moving and struggling targets generally results in sheared limbs. We'd rather not cause lasting harm on anyone we must procure."

"Right well, as long as this pony is a little *less* capable than the Gem was. I'm pretty sure I didn't actually get to see how that fight ended. These two will have to fill me in on the details- I really hope he exploded into glitter or something..." Flashpoint turns towards the door, then stops. "Are you... gonna teleport us, at least? I notice *we* didn't end up swapping body parts."

"The Giver was an anomalous power in the city. We... didn't really expect it to break out. No, I'm confident Deep Secret, while influential, isn't nearly as powerful as the Giver. And yes, I will provide transportation. Once you gather up your belongings, I can help you get to the approximate location of Deep Secret's safehouse." She tilts her head, as though listening to something. "...surveillance says that she's still inside, but we should make haste. Please, come this way once you have organized your things."

She takes a few steps back, and retrieving some chalk yet again seemingly out of thin air, begins drawing a circle large enough to host three ponies inside, occasionally glancing up to check on the group.

"...Well, I didn't know that Deep Secret was already deep in "the game", but after dealing with Zanbar, I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised." Torque inspected his belongings. "Oh, you even managed to grab most of my robot parts; thank you for that. I'll need to get better at assembling them a bit faster, though. Wasn't exactly planning a high-stress demonstration." He looked up at the floating book. "And I'm guessing that's the Intro to the Old Gods book you mentioned, correct?"

"Anyways, to properly answer your question, Moon Gazer, yes, I for one would be willing to help intercept Deep Secret. So, is the plan to bring her back to one of these circles, or that we start and end our interrogation at the safe house? Also, do you know what she and her followers may be offensively capable of? If she's the priestess of a subterranean deity, it would be good to know if summoning rock golems or burrowing underground need to be factored in."