April 2014 Game: "Post Mortem"



'''Evidence and Analysis '''

The following information explained to various people in the Selkirk's Sewing Circle (whether or not you were in Birmingham) in private places. She will warn you (especially if you weren't in Birmingham) that the information contained takes everything they've already done and makes it look like child's play and gives the character a chance to walk away if they so choose.

Casey has notes with her, but she will not give out copies of the notes--your characters are certainly able to take their own, however.

Casey's General Take on Things
There is a lot to sift through, but thankfully, I think I've managed to dig out the important parts (but I wouldn't mind help). The cultists were very forthcoming with information, which is rather suspicious in itself. I surmise that they:


 * Don't care if we find them or the second ritual (see below); don't think we can stop it; or it won't matter if we do or try.
 * They want us to find it, and plan to have us play a part in it.

We are going to need to be more clever than they are.

The ritual the cultists was performing was called the "Opening of the Mouth." What they say this does is take a dead human body, and with the help of anthromechanicals and mystical energy reanimates them. In other words, they claim they are bringing people back from the dead.

This was the first in a currently unknown series of rituals. The next ritual is due to be performed in St. Louis at an unknown location between May 5th and May 14th when some sort of mystical energies have reached their peak (an old pagan rite called Beltane and the following full moon). I have the impression that they are going to do something similar to the Opening of the Mouth ritual, but on a much larger scale. I also have the sneaking suspicion that they might be inciting riots, fire, or another disaster to bring the city to a "fever pitch" of chaos.

They seem to believe this is part of some divine metamorphosis/transformation. To the storied Janissaries? To servants of their cult or the Ottoman Empire?


 * Things we need to follow up on/investigate:
 * Where are they performing this ritual? They say they won't know until it is time, but that temple in Birmingham wasn't built overnight. We need to start trying to track down possible locations.
 * They will need dead bodies. I don't know how fresh they need their bodies--they may be gathering them ahead of time or maybe they hope to gather them if they are inciting some kind of riot at the time of the ritual.
 * They need anthromechanicals. There can't be a lot of people who make these around here, and the parts ought to be quite distinctive. Can we find out who around here would be able to supply those parts or if someone is having them shipped in? (And to who and where?)

Obviously, we've uncovered some cult trying to weaken British America (and the British Empire?). We've further ascertained that Wolsey and his HRF outbreak was a pawn of this cult, and there are a lot of other pawns in areas of authority and Parliament. There probably are among the common folk as well--people with useful talents like Charles Wells. It appears the leader of this--above Dr. Osiris and the Dollmaker of troubles past--is named Soroush, the Golden Serpent.


 * Things we need to follow up on/investigate:
 * We need to be very careful of who we're trusting--we may have killed or captured these people, but have no doubts that they already knew who we were before we walked into that first ritual.
 * What happened to the Clockwork Roosevelt? What is actually known about Janissaries? I hope to God we never have to fight a fully-formed one, but I think we need to know what goes into their making.
 * What can we find out about Soroush, the Golden Serpent? Has anyone we know (and trust) run across this name before?
 * They insinuated they've taken similar actions in India, South Africa, Gibraltar and London (unsure of which). Do we know anyone who may be able to help us find out what happened in these places that might help us stop our own?

This is hardly all of it, but it's something to start with....

Letters
==

First Letter: "I must commend you on the idea of recommending Wells to Wolsey. Wolsey was always going to be a great unwitting pawn for us, and Wells gave him the expertise to be effective. "Wells' current work is good to stop HRF remaining a problem. Can we use him again? Termination will be problematic: St Louis is not a place where we should or can act openly at the moment. "Serve me well and a transformation is assured. "Cosmic Radiance is the enlightening of your sacred dialectic. Soroush"


 * Take away - Wolsey was a pawn, they don't want to act openly in St. Louis. Soroush is a central person in this. This corresponds to information we found from Fibonacci recently, too.

Second Letter: "The second [ritual] will benefit most in the days leading up to the first full moon after Beltane. This is when the energies in Saint Louis will be at their fever pitch, the closer to the full moon, the better.

Gather the necessary materials now, I trust the first ritual has been completed."


 * Beltane (May Day) is an old seasonal rite performed with bonfires in early May. The first full moon after Beltane is May 14th, so we have a 10 day or so window.

From the Interrogation
Casey's Questions

"What is the second ritual for? The one you or your colleagues wish to perform around Beltane."

Sheshek - Have you ever noticed that the whole world transforms with the pull of the Moon? Seas rise, men change to beasts, women's cycles seem controlled by the power of our celestial neighbor. It should be obvious. Power - The concentration of Metamorphic energies. Like striking a diamond at just the proper place to cause a facet that could never exit without the application of violence at the proper moment. There are rivers that only exist once the power of the moon draws up the tide, and so it is with the ebb and flow of life. Life surges and then fades away. But at the crescendo, the moment of transformation is unstoppable.

Mi'Mar - If Metamorphosis is to happen, it requires power. Some power cannot be provided by batteries and capacitors. The will to live is power as is the desire to kill. Moments of ecstatic vision are a form of transformation, as are the moments when the will is bent and broken. Change and the breath of life are what are required.


 * These people are crazy mystics, and believe there's something to this Beltane and moon energy. If nothing else, it gives us a time frame.

"Why will energy be at a fever pitch in St. Louis, and is that where you'd be performing the ritual?"

Sheshek - Where? Now that is an interesting question, isn't it? The location is not revealed until the proper time, as a boat cannot navigate a river until the tide has raised it to allow it to pass. Otherwise it is a lifeless channel, is it not? It cannot be accessed without understanding the celestial wheel of movement. The stars are always in motion, silently in constant metamorphosis, but men have looked to them to guide them for thousands of years. Now that we cannot see them, have we lost our way? Or do we need to see them differently?

Mi'Mar - Time - Calculations of time and the machine of when things happen is all that matters. Nothing happens without the measurement. How long must the spark exist to bring something to life? Too short and the reaction fails; too long and the material is simply consumed. It is surprising how small a spark it takes to ignite a conflagration, isn't it? St. Louis is a large place. So many people, so many places. Yes, within the machine that is the city, people the pulses of electricity in its circuits, is where we will make the rite.


 * They claim they won't know when the ritual will happen until it's ready to happen. Either by some mystical knowledge or, perhaps, someone above just telling them as much. They must have some ideas where these things happen, though, because that chamber in Birmingham wasn't built overnight. Perhaps they already have some probable locations in St. Louis and are just waiting for the right one to make itself known? How can we find them?

"What are the materials needed?"

Sheshek - "I truly hope you are able to see. I'm certain what you've seen has prepared your mind for what might be necessary. Belief is a material when working as we do, as are fear, hope, and its brother, hopelessness. What greater power is there than that which is shown in the final frantic moments in the struggle to hold off death?

Mi'Mar - Rare materials, not easily found, that must be forged together in the final hour to prepare them so that the moment is not lost. All the greatest power comes from the greatest risk of failure. And of course the flesh to enclose them in.


 * Bodies and clockwork bits?

"Who wrote this letter about using Wolsey and Dr. Charles Wells? I already know he's called Soroush. I want to know about him or her. Who was the letter to?"

Sheshek - *smiles viciously* The letter is one of many by the Golden Serpent to his servants. This one was to me, but you will find similar ones in the hands of officials and others in St. Louis, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Bowling Green and a dozen other centers of your so called “Power”.

Mi’Mar – This was to us; Sheshek truly, but he listens for the truth of what any of us speak.


 * Well, we know Soroush is a man, and he seems to be at the top of this, or at least at the top of what we're looking at now.

"Was spreading a disease their plot and it just happened to dovetail with your own goals, or did you give them the idea? And what was the benefit of HRF to your superiors and cult?

Sheshek – Metamorphosis. The transformation wrought by what you call HRF has been truly unprecedented, has it not? British America shudders with the echoes of what we’ve done. Cities turn on one another like packs of jackals, power turned to chaos at Soroush’s direction. And with so little effort. The pillars of your world shake at the Golden Serpent’s glance. Our agents have little need to even hide any more. They have to only point to someone and call them Nightman! Or City Dweller! The most effective military leaders are strangled as those who play for power have seized control. Money – even before the transformation began, the garden was ripe to be infested. So, when the inkling of transformation began, Wolsey and the sea of frothing power hungry servants were prepared to act as Soroush commanded. Without them ever knowing that the venom they spread was his. Transformation and metamorphosis must, at some point take on a life of their own. And your people were only too willing to fulfill everything Soroush wished.

Mi’Mar – The transformation was Soroush’s plan from the beginning, so simple. But only one of many that currently move. What is a meal seasoned with only salt? Other spices are required to truly satisfy a discerning palate, don’t you agree?


 * Metamorphosis seems to really mean "death" although they are looking for additional transformation, probably into those living dolls. They are also apparently looking to turn people on one another. Perhaps we should be holding our allies dear?

"Furthermore... who are you people? Where do you come from, and why are you even here? I mean British America, not that house in Birmingham."

Sheshek – We are those who would see British America tear itself apart, Transformation breeds instability and instability is useful as a precursor to Metamorphosis. It is the same in India, South Africa, Gibraltar. And of course London.


 * What has happened in these places? I think it might be worth checking into....

Mi’Mar – I am from Tripoli, educated in Alexandria. And of course did advanced studies at Oxford. I have goals to create a better, more perfect machine. The Former Confederacy and British America were fertile soil for my experiments.

Tori's Questions

"What do you have to do with Osiris?"

From Sheshek - Dr. Osiris was a visionary servant of Soroush’s, a master of the transformation. His transformation has been completed. He was quite mad, but brilliant. His experiments have paved the way for what we now do. The Children of Isis, born through the Rite of Opening the Mouth (Dolls from how he describes them) are Dr. Osiris’s children, for it was his work that made breathing life into them possible.

From MiMar – Dr. Osiris was a useful madman who was far to bent on religion and unverifiable facts to understand the truth that only through the machine can perfect transformation be achieved. The Doll Maker understood the truth, but his creations were imperfect. Dr. Osiris research and the vision of the Master, Soroush, has made the blending of flesh and machine into anthromechanical perfection possible.


 * We may need to see what we can find out about Dr. Orisis' and the Doll Maker's past creations. Does anyone know what happened to Clockwork Roosevelt?

"Is he/it alive?" Sheshek - Dr. Osiris? – Not in a way that you would understand.

Mi’Mar – He’s dead.

Do you have money stashed away? Sheshek – More than you can imagine. Perhaps I should tell you where it is so that you can prove yourself to understand the truth. *VILE smile*

Mi’Mar – I have no need of money. All of my needs are taken care of by the Master. Flesh and clockworks to advance toward metamorphosis.

"What in victoria's underpants were those dolls?" Sheshek – Poppets; watchers, manifestations of the spirits of Aester, what some call the “Worm in the Gears”. We watched through some, other’s were there of their own accord so that the Worm could gauge how you reacted to them. The Night Gaunts you encountered were their mothers and fathers, many were made from their flesh or the flesh of their families to allow their minds to be freed of sanity to see the truth of metamorphosis and transformation.

Mi’Mar – Toys, small scale unsuccessful experiments.

"Who supplied/created your clockworks?" Sheshek – Mi’Mar designed many of them, others were modified from commercial sources, others were given to us by Soroush’s agents. You’ll find many similar clockworks in the workshops of the Ottoman Janissary and Humbaba factories. They are imperfect without the spells created by Soroush.

Mi’Mar – I designed them, or improved those given to me by Soroush.

"Is there something I can kill/cook for you last meal? It should be soon....." Sheshek – “I look forward to the transformation, a perfect metamorphosis. It will be something beyond your understanding or comprehension.” He seems to be quoting when he says, “Will you burn to know the truth that I know?” *A calm, disturbing smile*

Mi’Mar – Your astonishment will sustain me. *taunting*

Bridget's Questions

"What was the Ritual for?" Sheshek – To give life to Isis’ children. Imperfect animation is transformed into living, breathing existence without the constraints of either flesh or machine. Perfect metamorphosis.

Mi’Mar - “Opening the Mouth” allows the spirit of the Aester to occupy the body and breath life into the machine. It transforms dead flesh and machine into a living, breathing being.


 * I hope they're being mystical and this is not accurate. Otherwise, they are bringing people back from the dead with clockwork and that is a frightening idea.

"Were you working for anyone?" Sheshek – Soroush – the Master, the Golden Serpent, He who sees through my eyes and hears through my ears. He knows you all now. All I know, he knows. He will be pleased to make himself known to you when the proper time comes. You should feel privileged that you will soon know the truth. He will give you the gift of transformation and metamorphosis. Celebrate when you finally meet him!


 * Either he's omniscient, or he's been watching us and our activities. Neither of those are good.

Mi’Mar – The Master, Soroush. He whose Will shakes the world, whose thought brings the machine to action, such precision and unwavering calculation that hundreds have tried to find him, only to kill their own allies at the Golden Serpent’s whim. The mechanism of your world follows in the tracks he lays before you and all the time, you believe it is your own will. You are the puppets and you cannot even see the strings that give you life.


 * I think we need to be very careful about how we proceed and who we see as enemies... and friends. Then again, he could just be trying to frighten and divide us.

"Did you come into Birmingham before the HRF came or did you come after?" Sheshek – There was no transformation through the disease before it was birthed by the Master. Look at the metamorphosis such a tiny organism has created! We were building your current world for years before Dr. Osiris and the Doll Maker were allowed to begin making the changes. We are as patient as the crocodile in the river, waiting for the moment to strike.

Mi’Mar – The temple in Birmingham took years to build and it was where parts of what you call HRF spawned - And many other things.


 * They've been infecting British America for quite a long time.

"Did your cult have a hand in killing the survivors of Birmingham?" Sheshek – We had to do nothing. Only a flash of movement, a scent of fear and the people of this city turned only too easily on each other. Just like in St. Louis, Philadelphia, London and other cities. We only had to show them their fears, you did all the rest yourselves.

Mi’Mar – Oh no, that was a metamorphosis that was only hiding, we just had to show the men and women of Birmingham it was there.

==