25th session

In theory, this session was to cover the interval between the second and third acts in Eternal Lies. In practice, we'll need at least part of next session as well. I don't want to rush this interval, as it's probably the last one before the end of act three.

Folks had various plan, ranging from mayhem and murder to research to rest and relaxation. Vito planned to visit his mistress at some point.

Lillian: At least Vito's mistress worships a god of the correct gender.

(Lillian hasn't yet learned that Shub-Niggurath's gender is ambiguous, and possibly nominal.)

Talking to Janet

Janet Winston-Rogers wanted to know what the situation was. Folks reviewed what they knew of her and of her father, Walter Winston, whose death sparked the entire campaign,

GM (filling in backstory for those who forgot it): Walter Winston died of --

Joyce's Player: Of being a cowardly coward.

Originally, folks had a neutral to warm relationship with Janet. But, that was the original group. Joyce and Vito had been part of it. Tony had decided to focus on things he considered more important than learning what some rich woman's father had done thirteen years ago. Elaine had discovered that she was Janet's half sister and decided to stay with Janet and protect her. (I.e., their players left the campaign.) Lillian probably knew Janet vaguely, as they had the same social circle, and Martin knew her only from meetings to update her.

So, the connection to Janet herself wasn't necessarily as close as at the beginning of the game, even if Elaine had a vague connection to Joyce's social circle. And, Joyce herself was impatient with what she considered pointless meetings with the woman who patiently reimbursed the group's expenses and sent more money as requested. After all, they'd probably had five meetings before this one, if my count is correct: the initial meeting in the hangar, the meeting after Savannah, the meeting after Los Angeles, the meeting after Mexico City, and the meeting after Malta. These were handled more quickly over time.

So, while I could make an argument for playing this one out, I was willing to settle for a quick summary of what folks told Janet. That didn't surprise me. Janet's less of a character this run than she might be, and that's okay. The PCs include a pilot with her own plane and an heiress, so making sure their patron is pleased with them is not as big an issue as it might be. And that's all right. The group has enough reasons to deal with the Liar on its own.

So, while perhaps a weak spot in my gming, it was not a problem or surprise that folks preferred a summarized infodump. What surprised me was that, at this eleventh hour, folks suddenly wondered whether Janet was secretly evil or something. I don't think I played her any differently. I suspect what it was was simply not continuing to play her as hard as some of the other NPCs. As time went on, whatever rapport anyone had formed with either Janet or Elaine was further and further in the past. Janet was more faceless, I'd guess, and hence less apparently trustworthy, regardless of the actuality.

Then again, Joyce tends to assume everyone is lying to her, so perhaps it wasn't surprising that she didn't want to update Janet. Someone noted that, as the person paying the bills, Janet might want to know what her money was being spent on.

Vito: -We- can make money. Right, Joyce?

Joyce: It-takes- too long! Do you know how many people I'd have to kill?

A consensus was eventually reached. They would let her know they were going to India (which is on the way to Thibet).

Martin: How about we don't tell her we have Gol-Goroth in our back pockets?

Lillian: Or he has us in his back pocket.

Vito: He must find us very amusing.

GM: Pretty much.

Joyce brought up face ripping to explain that Vito hadn't seen stuff as bad as she had, iirc.

Martin: Look, can we skip swinging your viscera penises around?

Vito: At least I've got -that- left.

I forget to whom Martin referred below.

Martin: He's Catholic. Allegedly.

Possibly, he meant the pope.

So, Gol-Goroth was left out, as were a lot of other details. Janet was told that Jonathan Brooks had been wrong and sent his expedition to the wrong place. They had learned in the Yucatan that where they needed to head was not the Yucatan, but India.

Lillian's Baby

Folks were in Los Angeles, renting a small house or bungalow. Lillian had discovered that she was pregnant and decided that the trip to deal with the Liar would have to wait until she gave birth.

Lillian was worried about her child because of what she had learned about herself from her aunt Anne. I used the premise of Caleb Stokes's "Wives of March" and twisted slightly. Lillian was part of a worldwide family whose members were all descended from a prehistoric couple -- and who inherited the memories of all of their ancestors of the same gender. All the men were Him, all the women Her. This came about due to an unwise bargain repented of too late, and all members rather hoped to end the world to stop their pain.

Well, most members hoped for this. Lillian's aunt, to whom Lillian bore a strong resemblance, explained that when she learned that Lillian's mother had had a brief affair with one incarnation of Him and was carrying an incarnation of Her, she cast a spell to erase memories. Anne cast this spell over and over, and she believed she had succeeded in breaking the link between Lillian and the rest of the family.

Lillian did not start off with this background, but her player had asked me to introduce something in Lillian's background to explain why she was the way she was, something to make it easier to make interesting, but sub-optimal, choices. I thought of making Lillian the bastard daughter of Ramon Echevarria, but although that had the advantage of keeping outside elements to a minimum, the timing was workable, but not especially good. And, I think Lillian's player may be getting more mileage from the current angst than from the angst of being Echevarria's child.

Lillian no longer considers herself human. She had cautioned her companions and let them know what she thought the warning signs of needing to kill her were. She didn't think Anne's tactics had worked very well, but she did have to admit to her aunt that she didn't go around killing indiscriminately. As for whether she'd had memories that didn't seem to be her own, she said that she had recently had some, but those had belonged to her traveling companions, not to her own past lives. Anne's hand had begun to creep towards a concealed weapon, then stopped. Lillian was relieved, not so much that her aunt was not currently contemplating killing her, but that her aunt had her back and was prepared to kill her if it became necessary.

But, as Lillian's player noted, Lillian's fears for herself had been transferred to her child. Regardless of whether the father was Cecil Walker or Jerome, the question remained: Would the child be human or a monster? If the later, could Anne do for the child what she had done for Lillian?

Anne had no definite answers, but was willing to try to repeat what she'd done. Lillian said she planned to have the baby in Valletta. It had a good hospital (hopefully, it would have recovered from Dr. Solazzio's experiments with trace amounts of Nectar, referred to as "orange juice"). And it had Sir Godfrey Welles, Knight of Malta, secret warrior in the fight against the mythos, who had fallen in love with Anne years ago. She had faked her death shortly before they were to be married.

Anne decided she would have to be in disguise lest Sir Godfrey recognize her. Lillian decided that, while she shouldn't tell Sir Godfrey outright, she could subtly set up opportunities for Sir Godfrey to find out. She wants him and Anne to get back together.

Killing Time

Joyce and Vito were preparing to kill Samson Trammel. They discussed how to separate him from his assets. Meyer Lansky had given them the go ahead and had said it might be, you know, nice if some of that money found its way to Lansky.

Ultimately, they decided to have Vito use his legal and criminal skills to arrange for the IRS to freeze his assets. He figured he'd pay off Lansky himself (aka a Credit Rating Spend).

A thought occurred to Vito.

Vito: Everyone deserves a last meal.

Joyce: He had his last meal. He just doesn't know it.

Vito seemed to like that answer. He asked if Lansky had set things up so they could do this privately. Joyce assured him that everything had been taken care of.

Joyce: The guards'll give us a good hour and a half.

Vito: I wanted a whole day with him.

Joyce: I cannot afford to buy you a whole day.

There were two things they did not know until they arrived. The first was that one of the guards who had been paid off by Lansky would block their way. He had no business being there, but he'd become a Nectar addict. He didn't intend to let them kill Samson, as that would keep him from getting more.

The question in my mind was not whether Joyce and Vito could get past this guy, but rather, how they would choose to do so. Vito considered killing the man. After all, the guard was disobeying Lansky, so it wasn't as if there would be any consequences for that, right?

Joyce: Well, not apart from the consequences of killing a prison guard.

Vito came up with another idea, one I hadn't contemplated. He decided to lure the guard away with the promise of the thing he wanted.

Vito: We've got a whole bunch of Nectar!

In fact, he told the guard, the had enough Nectar to set the guy up for life. And, I realized that Martin's Samson-provided Nectar stash still contained enough to bring some with them, as Martin had made sure Joyce had custody of much of it. And a Preparedness spend ensured that Vito had some on him.

Note Passing

The second thing Joyce and Vito did not expect to find was Martin. Unknown to the others, he decided to visit Samson again.

Samson had sent a note telling Martin to tell him to his face that he was wrong about who his god was. Martin could not bring himself not to go to him.

He arrived some time before Joyce and Vito did. Samson's lawyer warned Martin that Samson was getting worse. This pained, but did not surprise him.

Samson was waiting fir him, sitting at a table with a bowl, a pad of paper, and a pen.

I'd had decided that, at some point, Samson would deteriorate to the point where he was talking the Tongue of Lies, but, at least at first, would still be able to communicate in writing. This seemed like a good time, and probably the only time to do this. I later realized that I had been more smarter than I'd realized to do this.

Neither Samson nor I expected this, but Martin decided to write, rather than talk, as well. I'm going to use initials so it's easier to tell who wrote what.

S: You got your boy back?

M: Yes.

S: What's been happening?

M: Oh you know. The usual. Trying to defeat your friend.

S: He says it's sometimes hard to see you. He thinks you should stop.
How are you doing for Nectar?

M: Trying to kick it. We'll see how that goes.

S: Mouths can open other places, you know.

M: Is that why you're not speaking?

[At this point, Samson opened his mouth, showing Martin a small mouth inside his mouth. Martin was not entirely surprised.]

M: Congratulations?
I guess?

S: Yes -- It's a blessing. It keeps me fed while you & your friends destroy it all elsewhere.
SS is dead? What about Donovan?

M: Both dead.

S: Did Donovan also betray me?

M: Yes.

S: Why? SS was a heretic. Brooks -- well, you know,
Why Donovan?

M: Donovan wanted to save his son.

S: From what? No one's been giving me updates.

M: From your god. He thought your god wanted him to sacrifice his son.

S: And he didn't?

M: He didnt.

S: Was he lying about how much more Nectar the Malta Mouth was producing?

M: No. He sacrificed others instead of his son. But when we found him, he wanted out.
He offered to collaborate with us + sell out the rest of them.

S: And he did? M: Yes.

S: I assume your friends killed SS?

M: Yes. Joyce shot her.

S: She's god's scourge.
And how did Donovan die?

M: I killed him. <crossed out stuff>

S: You did that for me?

M: I don't know why I did it.

At this point, where Samson pulled Martin into an embrace, and Martin cried on his shoulders while he kissed the top of Martin's head -- and, OOC, we figured that we'd reached the correct moment for Joyce and Vito to arrive.

While not expecting Martin, both Vito and Joyce told him it was time to leave. Martin realized they were going to kill Samson, and protested.

Martin: You don't need to do this. It's gratuitous.

Joyce: Martin, this isn't easy for me either.

She and Vito both believed that Samson was a bad person who had done horrible things and that he was bad for Martin.

Martin: I've been told people are bad influences my entire life.

Vito: You want to kill yourself because you're homosexual.

And suddenly, a two sided argument became three sided, as Joyce and Martin, both homosexual, stared at him.

Joyce: Don't listen to him. Have some pride!

Vito thought that Martin loved Samson, which was true, and that he was trying to keep both Samson and Jeremiah as lovers, which was not. He and Joyce hated what they thought Samson was doing to Martin (which may have been different for each of them and may or may not have corresponded to what Samson was actually doing to him).

Vito: Marty, I love you so much.

He tried to get back to business, but at that point, Joyce was annoyed at him.

Joyce (to Vito): I'm having a conversation with my good friend Marty.

At some point, Samson vomited Nectar from his second mouth into the bowl.

Joyce: That's not helping your case, Marty.

Martin: Why do I need to make a case for not killing people?

Vito: Because he's a monster who's killed other people.

Martin: So are we -all-!

Vito: Why do you love him?

Joyce: Vito. Glass houses, stones. You're screwing Shub-Niggurath.

Samson listened to all of this with great interest.

Lillian's Player: I'd like to point out that there's a bowl of Nectar, and Martin's not diving for it.

Martin maintained that it hurt nothing to let Samson live. I think Vito brought up the corrupt guard. Either he or Joyce pointed out that Samson mystically saw what Martin was doing, which meant the Liar did as well. Martin told them that Samson had said that the Liar could no longer see him. He pointed toward the bowl of Nectar, on and into which he was not diving, to drive his point home.

This was also partly misdirection aimed at Samson. Samson had no reason not to believe that Martin was no longer easily seen by the Liar because Martin had kicked his Nectar habit, and Martin saw no reason to let Samson know about the magical anti-Liar's scrying powers rock he'd created.

Martin also said that if they succeeded in their fight against the Liar, Samson's extra mouth and Nectar vomiting wouldn't matter.

Vito: You think it's going to magically vanish?

Martin: Yes! That's what we've been told!

Joyce: Have you read Melville? It's better in the original French.

Martin: No, it's not.

(I asked Joyce's player what the Melville reference was, and she emailed:

Joyce was referencing Ahab's mad quest for vengeance against an impersonal force that does not and cannot comprehend human reason. There's probably an even better quote, but this one from Chapter 36 ("The Quarterdeck") works well enough:

"Vengeance on a dumb brute!" cried Starbuck, "that simply smote thee from blindest instinct! Madness! To be enraged with a dumb thing, Captain Ahab, seems blasphemous.")

Joyce had a question for Samson.

Joyce: Hey, Samson! Do you still think it's the Man in Black?

Samson nodded.

Joyce: You're an idiot.

Vito: Why do you love him?

He said that Samson was ruining Martin, again making Martin angry enough to forget he was afraid, I think, and again inadvertently getting Martin and Joyce to close ranks against him.

Martin: Who are you to say who's ruined me?

Joyce: Vito, shut the f*ck up. Martin?

Martin: Yeah?

Joyce: You understand, killing him would be a kindness.

Martin: Yeah.

Joyce: To him.

Martin turned to Samson and wrote.

M: Would it be a kindness?

S: I'd rather live, frankly.
And anyway, I got him back for you.
Sure, you made a different deal.
But -I- showed you it was -possible-!

Joyce pointed out that the mouth inside Samson would consume him. Martin wrote.

M: What Joyce says -- the mouth consuming you. Is that what you want?

S: If that's what -God- wants. Then, it's -holy-.
-If- it happens.

Martin: It wouldn't be a kindness.

Joyce: Why?

Martin: Because he says it wouldn't.

Finally, and without warning, Joyce shot Samson in the kneecaps. Samson fell to the ground, reaching for the bowl of Nectar.

Joyce's Player: Joyce shoots the bowl,

GM: And sprays Nectar everywhere? I'm fine with that, you understand.

Joyce's player agreed that Joyce would probably not make that mistake, and would instead shoot near enough either the bowl or Samson's hands to keep him from taking the Nectar.

Joyce: Vito, you're done here.

Vito went to the car. Joyce started to say something about Martin being a potential threat and Lillian's baby, I think, but again, we agreed Joyce would probably not make the mistake of saying that in front of Samson Trammel.

Joyce: You once asked me how I can do what I do. I don't fight -for- anything. I fight -against- things. Do you understand what that implies?

Martin either nodded or said yes.

(Martin's player understood as well, although I didn't, so I asked for clarification afterwards. Joyce's player emailed:

The implication is basically: Unlike Martin or Lillian or Vito, who at least nominally are fighting to *protect* things, Joyce is only fighting against the Mythos--thus, she doesn't feel the same need to protect anyone or anything. The fight is what she cares about. Thus, as much as she's fond of Martin, if he got in the way of what she was doing or compromised them, she could take care of him without the same qualms as the others.)

Joyce told Martin to go, and he did.

Joyce: Trammel. (waits until he's looking at her) I keep my promises.

(What were her promises? As near as Joyce's player -- and the rest of us -- recall, "Joyce was reminding Trammel that she kept her promise to Martin not to kill Trammel this time, but she was also promising to not let Trammel hurt Martin anymore.")

She left the room and called over a guard to get Samson medical attention. This guard, faithfully on Lansky's payroll and not an addict, agreed conspiratorially thhat it was shame about Samson's tragic accident. He was very confused when Joyce told him Samson wa alive and that he was to remain so.

Joyce (to very confused paid off guard): He, dies, I come for you.

The guard got help, as instructed. Joyce went to the car where Vito and Martin were waiting for her.

Joyce to Vito: -You- are gonna make this right with Lansky.

Vito: I apologize for my lack of professionalism.

Martin: I'm not really relying on anyone to be anything now.

Joyce: I think it's best we don't see each other for a couple of days.

Taking a Break

Joyce visited her brother Charlie, his son, and his newborn daughter. She and Charlie went out in a boat. And, no one tried to keep her from smoking out of some irrational belief that it was bad for an unborn baby.

Vito made things right with Meyer Lansky, as Joyce had instructed. (I.e., the player took a permanent Credit Rating -rating- reduction). Then, he went camping in the mountains, where he had company in the form of Amelia, one of his companions who'd been lost in Carcosa. Well, unless she was a hallucination or a deception of the King in Yellow.

Vito: Joyce Summers is a better man than me.

Imaginary Joyce: Duh!

He told her a bit about what had happened, I think, including that he'd had to sooth Lansky.

Amelia: Is he the capo de tutti capos?

Vito laughed, delighted. He was aware that he might not be taslking to the real Amelia, but didn't let that stop him from behaving as if he were. She said that, although she and Geoffrey could now leave Carcosa, neither of them wanted to.

Vito allowed as how the King in Yellow had done one thing for which Vito was glad

Vito: He made Martin happy, so he gets a -tiny bit of a pass- from me.

Amelia: I'll tell him, Uncle Vito.

Vito: And tell him I know he sent that yellow truck!

(He hadn't, of course.)

Vito asked why Geoffrey never came to see him, like Amelia did. She said she'd ask Geoffrey / the Stranger to visit. (And it never occurred to me to use the "tell him not to be a stranger" line.)

Vito also said that it was tempting to try to find his way to Carcosa after dealing with the Liar, if he survived. Amelia begged him not to go to Carcosa.

Vito spent some time learning to sketch. Amelia gave him gentle, constructive criticism.

Martin returned to the house they were staying in. Lillian took one look at him, got him seated, and made him tea.

Lillian's player remembered the following details which I forgot: Jeremiah came down the stairs when he heard the car, intending to be there for Martin. Lillian and Jeremiah shared a brief look over Martin’s head. They silently divided up duties in a way that they have become accustomed to. Lillian will talk Martin down and get him settled, then send him off to Jeremiah to build him back up. (I originally phrased that in a way that could construe an innuendo regarding Jeremiah's part of the process, but I can’t recall it.)

Once Jeremiah went back upstairs, Lillian got down to business.

Lillian: So, talk?

Martin: Trammel's alive.

Lillian: And, this should surprise me because...?

Martin: I didn't know -- I thought you might have known.

He was very glad that she hadn't.

Martin: This tea's too hot.

Lillian puts ice cube in.

Martin: Only Jeremiah puts ice cubes in tea. I remember when you thought this was barbaric.

Lillian: I still do. (drops one in her own tea)

Martin: So, my veneer is abject cowardice. You know that, right? It's not really a veneer.

He told her what had happened.

Lillian: So, now, Trammel's alive. Aside from that and a lot of people shouting at each other, did anything important happen?

Martin: Well, I don't think that Joyce and Vito are very happy with me.

Lillian: Well, that happens a lot.

He told her about Joyce's decision that folks needed a break from each other. He assumed that Joyce and Vito were each miles away by now.

Lillian: Good.

Martin: They didn't let you in on it. I assumed you had.

Lillian: -Miles- away, you said?

He told her about Samson's extra mouth. Fascinated, Lillian made Martin describe exactly where in Samson's original mouth it was.

Martin: By the way, can you make sure that Joyce and Vito don't kill me when they get back?

Lillian: If they haven't killed you yet, I assume they're not going to.

There was a lot more talk, including an angst filled discussion about Lillian's baby. It could be inhuman. It could be a monster. It could be--

Martin: It could be a black baby!

After all, one of the two possible candidates was Jerome, a black man.

Lillian said that she would be delighted if her biggest worry was that she had given birth to a black baby girl. Indeed, giving birth to a girl of any color would be a good sign, as Anne had told her that the women of the unholy couple gave birth to boys who were incarnations of the men -- unless the father was one of those incarnations, in which case, the women gave birth to grotesque monsters.

I think she asked if she should tell Cecil. Martin advised her not to, or at least not yet.

For the rest of that conversation, I'm relying on an email from Lillian's player, who supplied such highlights as he remembered.

Martin: I think civilization was invented by cowards who didn't want to be killed.

Lillian: I think it may have been invented by women who didn't want to be raped.

Martin: To faggots, cowards, and women,

Lillian: And other deviants.

They toasted with their teacups, or possibly with the flask of emergency Martin scotch that Lillian carries. That flask saw use at various points during this scene.

Lillian: What do you care so much about Trammel?

Martin: He was nice to me. He makes me feel good. It makes me feel good to be nice to him.

Lillian: Just because he was nice to you once?

Martin: Brain chemicals dear. Affection, attachment, sentiment, it’s all arbitrary.

Lillian: You know he’s an awful person, don’t you?

Martin: We don’t choose who we’re going to care about. Chemicals, sentiment, they don’t care if someone is a monster, we love them anyway.

Lillian looked briefly taken aback, then looked down at her belly, and slowly rested her hand on it. Then she collapsed in on herself, silently weeping. Martin held her.

The conversation ended with this:

Martin: And please, don’t let Vito or Joyce kill me.

Lillian: I will make sure that no one kills you dear.

Lillian watched him climb the stairs to the room where Jeremiah was waiting for him. Martin closed the door behind him. Lillian waited a moment more.

Lillian (quietly, to herself): Right up until the moment when I have to kill you myself.

Joyce returned a few days later and sat on the porch smoking. Jeremiah joined her, asking if he owed her an apology. I think she told him that Martin was fine and he said he was more worried about Joyce. She was annoyed at his attempt to be a mother hen.

Vito drove up. He'd bought wine, and somehow, he and Joyce got competitive about cooking. Joyce decided to make fried chicken. Jeremiah got a shopping list.

The three of them went into the house, sweeping up a slightly boggled Martin and Lillian. Martin was still nervous. Vito unstrapped his hook.

Vito: Look! I'm hookless!

Martin: I have no doubt you can still kill me.

Naturally, this led to a bit of talk about Samson Trammel.

Lillian: Why is it so important to you to do it personally?

I'm not sure if either Joyce or Vito answered that.

Vito: Marty, I still love you. You want to save Trammel. I love you for that.

Joyce: There's nothing to save.

Vito: Maybe not.

The subject returned to food -- and opera.

Martin: Joyce, there's nothing civilized came out of Tennessee. Let him have his opera.

Joyce: All right. I get to be the villain of this piece.

I have no idea how opera came up.

Joyce told Martin that he wouldn't like her uncivilized fried chicken, but he was already waiting to have some.

I forget exactly what prompted this:

Lillian: Cognitive Dissonance. That's why I'm the crazy one. I'm not capable of cognitive dissonance. I'm pregnant, I'm hungry, I'm cranky -- feed me!

Lillian's player also remembers: she declared herself an avatar of Kali, the all-mother, bringer of life and death, and demanded tribute. then later she said that as Kali judges all souls and declares if they shall live or die, so Lillian would judge the worthiness of the food brought before her. Finally, she judged that all the food was worthy, that the winner was HER, for her belly was full, and her terrible wrath was assuaged for the moment.

Martin slipped a note into Joyce's pocket. it said, "Thank you, Joyce."

Vito (to Lillian): I might feel the need to go to Carcosa. I was plead with not to. So, I trust that you will do the right thing by me. Here -- try that. (to everyone) Amelia says hello to everyone.

Martin: Tell her I say hello, too.

Vito: It's all right. She can hear you.

Martin looked disconcerted.

Lillian: Vito! Making sure that your passport doesn't get an entry visa to Carcosa was about third on my list for you.

Vito: You're a beautiful girl.

I forget what prompted this, but it was probably Vito and Joyce arguing over the cooking contest:

Lillian: Girls! Stop fighting! You're both pretty.

Martin: How did Lillian become the Mom? (beat) I just walked right into that, didn't I?

I think at some point Vito angled for position of godfather to Lillian's baby. Lillian's player thinks she said something like: "Setting aside my Hindu and Buddhist faith and Voodoo training, my _family_ is _Presbyterian_ thankyouverymuch.

Joyce: When was the last time -you- went to Confession?

Vito (chagrined): Oh Christ!

Actually, on further consideration, Vito's player decided that he had confesses to the young priest in Rome, Father Lankester Merrin, who'd exorcised Vito's arm when it was amputated.

The topic of Malta came up. Vito had asked Martin to go with him when he offered his services to Sir Godfrey Welles, and Martin agreed,as he and Jeremiah had nothing better to do that couldn't be done on Malta. Vito asked if Martin understood what Vito was asking of him: to join Vito and offer his own services to Sir Godfrey.

Martin had not realized that this was what Vito was asking. He demurred, but agreed to bear witness when Vito offered his own services.

Lillian told folks of her plan to go to Malta to give birth, and about Anne's plan to disguise herself. Someone referred to Anne and Sir Godfrey as the midwife and midhusband. Vito thought it would be a good idea to get the two back together. Martin wasn't so sure that it was a good thing. Lillian wasn't sure, but, as her player put it, felt it was unfair of Anne to break off their engagement by faking her own death. And, since fate has brought the two of them together again, Sir Godfrey should have a fair shot at seeing through Anne's disguise. If he happened to do that, why, he would free to do what he would with that knowledge. Lillian had no conscious plan to put her thumb on the scales of fate here.

Lillian's player also recalled the following in his email:

-- -- -- In discussing whether matchmaking was a good idea or not, someone said that it had been a long time, and so there shouldn't be any harm in it. Lillian sarcastically replied that noooo, no one they know would ever form an irrationally powerful romantic attachment that could last for decades and decades an motivate them take extraordinary measures to re-unite with the object of their affection, defying the laws of god and man if necessary.

Jeremiah blushed bright red, and Martin ran over to hug him. Or possibly the other way around. -- -- --

At some point, Joyce spoke privately (I think) to Lillian.

Joyce: You and I both know what you need to do about that baby, but you're going to have it anyway. And I will have words with you about this later.

Lillian was understandably nonplussed.

Vito talked about returning home from Nepal after the events of Tatters of the King in the late 1920s.

Vito: First time in twenty years I told my wife I loved her.

There was some joking about what his wife said and what Vito would have told his then-mistress. It's my hypothesis that Vito told Hillary how her husband died, and that this is when they became lovers, but that's up to Vito's player.

Folks agreed that Martin should get the list of Samson Trammel's books from Vito's old companion in arms, Remy Piper.

Martin: I can't imagine you trust me more than Remy.

Vito: Because you have a f*cking heart!

Research, Questions, and Finally, Uncertainty

I'm combining all the discussion here. Some happened early in the session, but chronologically, it all happened later than all of the above.

There was a conversation (via email) between Lillian, Martin, and Jeremiah via email (with me asking questions about Jeremiah, as I'm not actually usually the one who plays him).

-- -- --

L: "Martin dear, I think I'm starting to get an inkling of what Echeveria was doing when he was casting those spells on poor Edgar. Would you be a darling and help me turn that into an inkle, or if we're lucky, even an ink? I think we'll need to go pawing through that awful trunk of yours, or perhaps your overcoat.

My sense is that the spells might have been protective in some way. The thing that's frustrating me is that I can't seem to tell if they're still active."

M: *Hands Lillian a piece of paper*

"Draw them out. I'll see what I can do."

L: "Martin, you're not becoming possessive of that library, are you? I'm happy to give you all the background you need to be brilliant and efficient and useful in hunting down the information we need, but I was rather expecting to work with you.

Did you really expect me to dump a research job in your lap and then galavant off to enjoy my morning sickness? I'm not Sam Jenner you know."

M: *Grumble grumble grumble* "You're pregnant. Girls are always hysterical when they're pregnant."

• Martin will eventually reluctantly sort through books and hand Lillian the ones that might help her figure out the protective spells, but not before making more misogynist comments.*

L: "Careful about making that sort of diagnosis, Dr. Locksley, unless you're prepared to administer the traditional treatment for hysteria."

M: *Grumble shudder*

GM: Would Jeremiah suggest just handing her a sexual aid?

Martin's Player: ...quite probably. He's (hilariously) even more vulgar than Martin, but in this very good-natured way that makes it seem all very aboveboard (Martin more or less always sounds super sketchy).

J: In that case, he hands it to Lillian with a flourish.

L: "Where?

In the world?

Did you get?

THAT?

J: <Laughter.>

L: Why do you even HAVE it?

J: "In case of hysteria, my dear."

L: "And who manufactures them? Are they looking to expand? I think there's a business opportunity here."

"You're both ridiculous, and you'd be insufferable if you weren't so adorable. Now then, (turns to the piles of books, nonchalantly pockets the device) I think we had research to conduct."

Martin's Player: Jeremiah probably ignores the pocketing of the device, if he sees it at all. Martin almost certainly sees the device being pocketed, and smirks.

Lillian's Player: Does Jeremiah help with the research? Maybe not reading the forbidden brain melting books, but keeping company and organizing and fetching?

Who's usually more solicitous of who's need, Jeremiah or Martin?

I can picture the three of them gradually trying to out-nice each other with fetching tea and opening or closing windows and grabbing blankets if people are cold or grabbing books and pens and paper from across the room, until it becomes a silly sort of competition.

But that might be a game played against just Martin or just Jeremiah.

Martin's Player: Jeremiah is genuinely a very nice and solicitous person. Jeremiah and Martin try and prevent each other from reading the brain-melting books. This leads to them sabotaging each other. Jeremiah probably ends up with a point or so of Cthulhu mythos.

[NB from GM: Not in ways that make it easier for players to have PCs do the research. In ways involving angsty stuff, sure.]

Martin's Player: Martin is not a nice or solicitous person, but he does not like being shown up by Jeremiah. He participates in this out-nice-ing contest somewhat dryly, and looks beleaguered.

Lillian's Player: Lillian enjoys the game. But at some point, when Lillian is thinks Martin has suffered enough, she whispers something absolutely filthy in Jeremiah's ear, and strongly encourages Jeremiah to take him off somewhere and un-beleaguer him.

GM: I'm guessing all three of them have nightmares. They've certainly got experiences to justify that.

-- -- --

At one point, I laid out pictures of various NPCs -- cultists who were around in the 1920s and Walter Winston's group of investigators, of whom Douglas Henslowe was the sole remaining survivor.

Vito saw Edgar Job's avenging of Ramon Echevarria as Job's finest moment. It showed bravery and loyalty. I think Lillian either disagreed or thought that was beside the point.

She thought that Edgar Job was meant to be sacrificed in Ramon Echevarria's ritual. She theorized that Ramon had deliberately developed a real affection for Job so that he could get power from sacrificing him.

Vito said something I don't quite remember about "If sacrifices made with truth".

Lillian said that there were several small groups fighting mythos activity. There were the three guardians of Ethiopia. There was Sir Godfrey Welles, the knight of Malta.

Lillian: Us -- whatever we are.

Joyce added certain people at Arkham's Miskatonic University to the list. Lillian explained the problem.

Lillian: They don't -talk- to each other.

Joyce mentioned a Special Research Initiative.

WAS THIS THE GROUP SHE'D HELPED SET UP, A GROUP SHE WANTED TO SET UP, OR BOTH?

Vito brought out documents for folks to sign, setting up a Tontine, I think.

Vito: If you need anything --

Lillian: Yes, I do. I need you to keep me out of the insane asylum.

Vito said that would be more difficult. I think options were discussed.

Lillian's Player, via texting: I think the plan is a clever and well crafted documents specifying powers of attorney, designated next of kin and medical proxies (or whatever the 1930's equivalent was) and instructions for care in the event of paralysis, dismemberment, catatonia, hallucinations, nervous breakdown, etc. Notarized declarations of competence by well respected shrinks. Trust funds to pay for extended care in specified private facilities, possibly attached to John's Hopkins.

This works for me. I'm not planning on it being an issue unless folks start acting very, very strangely in front of the wrong people, but it's a fine thing to set up in passing.

Folks made arrangements to dig up bodies and borrow items from an LAPD evidence room. When everything went wrong in the interrupted 1924 ritual, Vince Stack shot Ramon Echevarria, killing him. Edgar Job picked up Ramon's ceremonial knife and killed Vince with it. Lillian wanted to see that knife.

Joyce had contacts in the LAPD willing to look the other way as they borrowed a piece of evidence on a 13-year-old case the department never wanted, especially given help closing that case as best as it was likely ever to be closed, leading to arresting Samson Trammel and shutting down his Nectar operation.

The knife, however, was nothing special. Sure, it was decorated. It wasn't a great weapon, but it was entirely believable that Edgar Job, high on drugs and in fear for his life after seeing his cult leader shot in front of him, could succeed in killing Vince Stack with it. But, Lillian was confident that it held no eldritch power and wasn't intended to kill, but rather to impress Ramon's cultist followers.

Lillian: This is a prop.

She concluded that she was probably wrong about Ramon planning to sacrifice Edgar. Folks dug up thirteen year old corpses. Lillian confirmed that Vince Stack's corpse bore the expected death wound and that such remains as were left of Ramon Echevarria were consistent with being killed by a shotgun blast.

Identities were pretty much confirmed. E.g., a household servant identified Ramon Echevarria's body, and so on. Katherine Clarke's body was headless, but her family was pretty sure it was indeed her body.

Joyce went over the roles of the people in Walter Winston's group. F. C. Kullerman was the book guy. Walter Winston was the leader and supplied the money. Vince Stack was muscle, a fixer, and a P.I. Katherine Clarke was the photographer. But, what had Douglas Henslowe's roll been?

The text isn't clear on that, but I agree with the player's conclusion that, like Joyce in her original appearance in someone's Masks of Nyarlathotep campaign, Douglas Henslowe was second string to everyone else: rich, but not as rich as Walter; muscle, but not as good at that as Vince; competent at book stuff, but not so much as F. C. Kullerman; decent at sketching, but not a photographer like Katherine Clarke. He was, I think, the one who cracked the cypher on Ramon Echevarria and Abraham Buchwald's account books. Joyce had bonded with Douglas in no small part because of their similar backgrounds, both inside and outside the fight against the forces of the mythos.

Vito suggested a theory about Ramon Echevarria's ritual. Perhaps hhis plan had been for the Liar to eat Gol-Goroth.

Lillian: Or Gol-Goroth's power.

Martin: A parasite.

Vito: Yes.

Joyce: Politics get really crazy between these guys.

They also discussed the role of Edgar Job. As far as Lillian, Martin, and Jeremiah could determine, Ramon Echevarria had indeed cast a spell or spells on Edgar Job. These both were and weren't active, and both were and weren't protective.

Joyce wondered if the spells were to protect Edgar from something that wasn't always applicable.

It was highly unlikely that Edgar had been intended to be a vessel for the Liar, especially given that the Liar had manifested physically, as Ramon's followers had expected, even though they had not expected what they had gotten, i.e., attacked by Walter Winston's group and the being they had summoned (although some cultists had probably willingly sacrificed themselves to the Liar).

This did not entirely calm folks' worries.

Joyce: Do we know if it's safe to keep Edgar Job alive?

Martin: It may not be safe to kill him.

Joyce: Point.

And, Martin noted, they weren't going to learn more. Everyone involved who might know more was dead. It wasn't as if they were going to bring Ramon Echevarria back from the dead and ask him questions. Joyce said that it was possible to do that, but that it was very messy, and she didn't recommend it. Martin had no desire to try it, as Ramon Echevarria would just lie to them.

And, finally, Lillian asked about Vito's mistress.

Lillian: So, are you going to introduce me to Hillary?

Vito: I think I'm gonna have to.

Vito hadn't wanted them to meet, but he had reconsidered.

Mercenaries and Guides

Joyce's player intended that Joyce recruit mercenaries for the trip to Thibet, as ablative armor. I asked that the mercenaries not be Hindu, Jain, Bon, or Buddhist, and she assured me that they weren't. I expect I'll get a corrected list soon, but this is what I recall:

Master Sargent Smedly. Smedly was the name he'd taken from a lieutenant he'd brutally murdered.

Sher Badur Ghabe. Former British NCO in Gherka Rifles.

Rasul and his six brothers. Pashtans.

Ghengis. A Mongol. Quote: My name is not Ghengis.

Semyon. Responds to Russian. Unknown what he speaks.

Fon. The Cantonese mercenary Joyce hired in Bangkok.

Comrade Wu. Fifth Interdisciplinary?

I did get the full list before the next session, so I'll include it with that session's write up.

She was going to invent a sherpa guide, but I intervened, as I had reviewed the Thibet chapter and realized that the guide created by the authors fit well with this group -- and, quite likely, with many others, given probable arcs in Eternal Lies.

For reasons that Joyce's player had learned from wikipedia and Joyce herself was coming to know, it was actually quite challenging to find a guide that would be willing to take the group up Mount Kailash. But, there was one man who might be willing, named Pannu Singh.

Joyce's source, who stressed, "You didn't hear it from me", said that she could find Singh at whichever town he had not yet been thrown out of yet when she arrived, for he was an alcoholic. For some reason, some of the players think Pannu Singh is a Sikh. I'm not sure why. Or, more accurately, I'm not sure what the statistics are, just that the authors did not make him a Sikh.