Kingbeast's Lair

Date At Start Of Game: September 12th, 1935

[Author’s Note: This is the log for the 9th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play.]

Tracking Down The Tears Of Azazoth

After the chaotic melee in the basement with the byakhee the PC evaluate the situation and try to determine what happened. Archie checks out Tredge’s wounds then tries to calm down the hobo who is paralyzed in fear. Detective Keegan calls for backup and for an ambulance. Father Nunzio enters the basement holding his head. He entered the church proper and found Pastor Murphy in a pew reading a strange black book. When he asked the Pastor for some help in the next room he did not respond. When Father Nunzio grabbed Pastor Murphy’s arm he struck him in the back of the head sending him sprawling. At this point Father Nunzio takes the hobo under his arm and adjourns to another room to console him. The PC begin to search the house in an attempt to find more clues. In Pastor Murphy’s room they find some butcher paper that has been tied with twine. It must have held the Tears Of Azazoth. On the outside handwriting says “p. Murphy $50”.

At this point the PC call Professor Cuttling to help them go over their clues. The trio considers all options and thinks that the best course of action is to head to head to Boston to try and find the “Jahraus” house where the circus performers stole the Tears Of Azazoth. Maybe the owner is trying to get it back?

Boston Murders

As the trio heads to Boston to start their investigation Detective Keegan calls ahead to the Boston Police Department (PD). He tells them that he is investigating a murder in Arkham and would like to speak with the Boston PD about someone named “Jahraus” who is likely from a wealthy household. To his surprise the Boston PD puts on one of their homicide investigators, Detective Harrison. Detective Harrison informs Detective Keegan that he is working on two strange murders that happened the previous night in Boston. After brief exchange the pair realize that they are working on a related case. They decide to meet to discuss details.

Detective Harrison, a tough looking old-school cop, pulls out his files and start to go over the details with Detective Keegan and his associates. In Boston there were two murders that happened within two hours of each other. The first is an antique dealer. He was killed in his bed. A paralyzing look of fear was on his face. His eyes were rolled back into his head. The victim’s throat was torn into with a razor sharp implement in an oval shaped pattern. The second is a pawn shop owner. He was also killed in his bed. He had the same sign of fear but had only minor scratches on one arm. It appears that he had a heart attack. At this point Detective Keegan explains select details from the murder of Pastor Murphy. He relays his suspicion that the murders are the result of a robbery gone terribly wrong. After going over the details the two police detectives decide to head over to the Jahraus house to see if they can come up with any clues. Detective Keegan asks that some officers go back to the crime scenes to grab receipt books or paperwork that may show transfer of ownership of a black book called the Tears Of Azazoth. He explains that this book may be the motivation for these strange murders.

First Visit To The Jahraus Household

The PC with Detective Harrison driving pull to the Jahraus house. The house is in a nice neighborhood but is not that well kept. There are some weeds in the lawn and the paint is chipping on most of the window and door frames. The group then ascends the creaky front porch and knocks on the door. A frazzled older woman in her late 50’s opens the door. With a thick German accent she says that her name is Marta. Detective Keegan says that they need to speak with Fred Jahraus. After wiping her hands on her dirty apron she escorts the PC into an adjacent front parlor then goes to fetch Fred. The PC can hear several children playing in rooms near the back of the house. The front room is very well kept and includes a curio cabinet, two plush chairs, and a bookshelf. Inside the curio cabinet is an award for Fred Jahraus for his work at Lien Fung. Lien Fung is apparently his place of employment.

Fred Jahraus enters the room followed by Marta. Fred is a handsome blonde man with long mutton chop sideburns. He is wearing a button down shirt and slacks. As Fred shakes the hands of the PC a large but false smile adorns his face. The PC then begin to question Fred. They ask about a robbery which he denies. They then ask about a book called the Tears Of Azazoth. Although he puts on a great show Detective Keegan believes that Fred Jahraus knows about the Tears Of Azazoth and is covering it up. After some conversation Detective Keegan asks his associates (aka Archie and Leo) to examine the house.

As Archie and Leo move to the back rooms they see 5 kids ranging from 4 to 14. The children are a bit dirty and seem a bit scared. Archie and Leo then proceed to search the upstairs bedrooms. In Fred’s room they find several newspaper clippings. The clippings are mostly related to a tiny political organization that Fred Jahraus chairs called the American Preservation League (APL). The APL pushes for stricter immigration laws and a strong isolationist policy. Apparently Fred took over leadership of the organization when his father passed away. His father, Dieter, was killed 15 years ago at his place of work (a clothing manufacturer known as Lien Fung) by, “an assault with a deadly weapon.” Most of the articles are related to the support of white victims from colored assailants. Common tactics including picketing and attendance at local political functions. One recent article talks about how two APL members attacked a black neighbor who moved next door and trespassed. The victim claims that he was on his own property.

In Marta’s room the PC find two things of interest. The first thing they find is an old picture of Marta. It is the same picture that the PC found with Document 1 except the face is not yet burned out! On the back it lists 1898 as the year. On a whim Archie scratches one corner. They also find a small jewelry box that contains the black onyx ring found in the picture.

After finding these artifacts Archie and Leo devise a plan to watch what happens immediately after the group of police officers leaves the house. They carefully rig one of the upstairs windows so that they can break in later. While rigging the window they notice scratches from what appears to be a small crowbar. This confirms that the house was broken into by the circus performers and for some reason the Jahraus family is hiding it. If they get lucky the Jahraus family will reveal the location of the Tears Of Azazoth. On their way back to the front parlor Leo asks to get a drink of water. In the kitchen the other children watch him with quiet serious stares. Leo gets a feeling that something is not right with the children but he cannot put his finger on the reason why. It sends a chill up his spine. As the group leaves Leo rounds the corner and quickly climbs the drain pipe so that he can watch the upstairs hallway.

After the PC leave Leo sees Marta and Fred walk into the upstairs hallway. In the hallway they have a silent conversation. Fred appears to be trying to comfort his Mother who is very upset by the visit from the police. After first calmly brushing her arm Fred gives Marta a deep kiss of the type that is not proper for a family member. Before climbing down Leo also hears commotion in the backyard. The two eldest children, a girl and boy, are opening what appears to be a root cellar in hushed tones. At this point Archie climbs down and returns to the group. Detective Harrison suggests looking at another avenue as he does not see evidence that the Jahraus family has done anything illegal. After parting with Detective Harrison the PC compare notes. When Archie explains what he witnessed in the hallway Leo realizes why the children seemed creepy. They all have bone structures similar to Marta and Fred. They must be inbred. At this point Archie also call back to Miskatonic University to ask about the picture. To his horror the picture is scratched with the mark that he made!

Second Visit To The Jahraus Household

After having dropped off Detective Harrison at the Boston police office the PC head back to the Jahraus house. When they return they decide to sneak into the root cellar to check out what the two kids were doing. Archie leads the way. Leo and Detective Keegan carefully search the root cellar. In the floor they find an engraved symbol that looks like an eye. Under the symbol they find a green painted box. The box has some German writing on the side which they careful write down. The trio then opens the box. Inside are paper shreds that are being used as packing material. It is readily apparent that this box once held the book. After leaving the cellar the trio hears an argument happening in the front parlor. Archie sneaks over to listen while Leo and Detective Keegan hide behind some bushes in the backyard. In the front yard is a blue sedan that Archie does not recognize. He quickly writes down the license plate number. Archie hears some crying coming from a woman’s voice that he does not recognize. He then hears her talking in a loud voice, “Mother how could you!?! I can’t believe it.” After a short pause Marta speaks up, “When your Father left I was lost…and Fred…Kate I…” At that point the front door slams open and a blonde haired woman in a nice dress leaves the house. She gets into the blue sedan and drives off. Fred comes out on the porch behind Marta and says, “Do you think she will do anything about with what she has learned? I bet it was that fiancé of hers that put her up to this…” As Fred grabs his jacket Marta says to him, “Don’t do anything rash Fred…please…she is your sister.” Fred storms out to the garage and takes off.

At this point Marta returns to the family room with the kids. A few seconds later the two eldest Jahraus children leave from the back door of the house and head into the root cellar. The girl goes under the swing near a tool shed and pulls up a board. From under the board she removes what appears to be a dead cat. Holding it by the hind legs she enters the root cellar. Archie sneaks over to listen. As he sneaks up he trips on the garden hose and makes a noise. When the cellar door opens with the Jahraus boy Archie clocks him then runs to the bushes with the other PC. When Archie reaches the other PC they hear a crash and five byakhee explode from the root cellar! After hovering for a moment they take off.

Killing Kate

Quickly the PC return to their car and race towards Kate Jahraus’ house. With some fancy driving the PC arrive at the scene before the byakhee. After arming up they head towards the front door. When the approach they can hear Fred Jahraus yelling. Archie breaks open the door while Detective Keegan takes the lead. Inside they see Fred with a handgun yelling at a man they assume to be Martin. Martin is shielding Kate with his body telling Fred to leave. Detective Keegan tells Fred to freeze and to drop the gun. As Fred lays down the gun and backs off Archie and Leo see byakhee approaching. Three are approaching from the front door and two are coming from the back. At this point combat ensues! The PC start blasting at byakhee with shotguns and a pistol. Fred cowers behind a couch. Martin grabs a kitchen knife and tries to defend Kate. It quickly becomes apparent that the creatures are trying to get to Kate. As Martin falls Archie defends Kate. With some powerful blows he takes out the last byakhee.

After the byakhee threat is over Kate runs to check on Martin but he is dead. She sobs and cries out in anguish…

Date At End Of Game: September 13th, 1935