Inkpot words will be in red, flourish in blue. The results of the dice rolls for each paragraph are noted after the letter.
Letter 2 - Inheriting Darkness
(Read Letter 1 here.)
Character: Student (Skill: Inspiration +1 dice to a single Language test)
Penmanship: Average (2d)
Language: Poor (1d)
Heart: Good (3d)
Profile summary (see product for full profile): I have inherited the Vir Stellas from my grandfather. With help from letters and notes exchanged between my grandfather and Pierre Durand, I can interpret some of the text. From the little I am able to read of the text, it appears to contain, among other things, certain rituals that might open a window to another world or reality. However, these rituals require two people to perform. I am writing to my friend Jemima Carter in New Orleans in the hopes that she will meet me in Arkham, Mass. and assist me in completing the ritual since she has expressed a knowledge of the dark arts and magic.
Rules of correspondence: Use your most persuasive language. Your first language roll automatically succeeds.
* * * * *
My dear friend Jemima,
It is with great excitement that I am writing to you. For the past couple of weeks, I have been in the United States, specifically Arkham, Maine, visiting a friend of mine who is in the hospital recovering from a severe illness. Catherine and I grew up together in France and she is like a sister to me. But that is not the reason I am sending you this letter. I was hoping to inveigle you to come up from New Orleans for a visit before I must return home in the fall for classes. There is a matter that I believe with which you might be able to assist me.
Several months ago my mother's parents both passed away suddenly. Shortly before leaving on this trip, I learned that my Grandpa McMillan left me his book collection as an inheritance. I could keep any that might help me with my studies or hold my interest for other reasons. The rest I was free to sell, with one exception. Within the library safe, there was one tome that I was forbidden to dispose of. Curious, I used the brass key that unlocked the safe and retrieved the volume. It was a thick book with a beautiful leather cover. A quick scan of the pages made me think it was a collection of ghost stories, as pictures of monstrous creatures interspersed the handwriting throughout. I could not confirm this, however, as the words were written in some obscure language. Along with the book were a stack of letters, correspondence between my grandpa and his close friend Pierre Durand, who also passed recently.
Knowing I would have a lot of time on my hands I brought the book and letters with me. Reading through the correspondence I soon discovered that my initial thoughts were in error. Instead of stories, it appears the book is a collection of religious and mystical texts. My Grandpa and M. Durand called it the Vir Stellas and they seemed to believe that not only was it authentic, but that the creatures and places mentioned within actually exist. At first, I brushed their theories off as nonsense. However, reading through some of the pieces of the text that they were able to translate (and record in their notes) I am starting to believe them myself.
Grandpa and M. Durand’s research had turned up other writings and lore that seemed to support and confirm the little they knew about the Vir Stellas. But what has had the greatest effect on me is the “Black Page.” This page is exactly as it sounds . . . a solid black page. It seemed uninteresting at first, yet I couldn’t help but continue to study it. After a while, I began to see shapes and images form from the blackness. They were mesmerizing. Also, I heard voices -- whether they were audible or just in my mind I can not be sure -- which I believe were the beings attempting to communicate with me. The more I studied the Black Page the easier it became to translate more of the text. While there is still a lot that is foreign to me, I have uncovered what I believe to be instructions for an ancient ritual. While I am still trying to understand the full purpose of the ritual, I am convinced that performing it will allow for direct communication with the beings, perhaps even physical travel into their world or dimension.
While such an endeavor interests me greatly, I have come across a setback. It appears that the ritual requires two people, one to communicate with the beings and one to act as an anchor to this world. I am hesitant to share this information with anyone in Arkham but felt that you might be the perfect person to assist me. In our past correspondence, you had mentioned that you have studied many of the dark arts there in New Orleans and even have begun to think of yourself as a witch. As you already have a belief in the occult and are experienced in incantations and mystic rites -- at least more than I -- I feel safe sharing this with you and asking you to join me in Arkham. I do hope you will consider this. I don’t know what we will find but I’m sure it will be enlightening.
I look forward to your response.
Pauline Courbet
P1 - Flourish: 1,3,4 fail Inkpot: Automatically succeeds - superior word Penmanship: 3,5 success
Total Score: 2
P2 - Flourish: 2,3,4 fail Inkpot: 6 - superior word Penmanship: 3,3 fail
Total Score: 1
P3 - Flourish: pass Inkpot: 3 - inferior word Penmanship: 4,6 success
Total Score: 1
P4 - Flourish: 1,6,6 success Inkpot: 3, 4 (used Inspiration skill to roll second die) - inferior word (-1 to score due to flourish) Penmanship: 3,6 success
Total Score: 0
P5 - Flourish: pass Inkpot: 1 - inferior word Penmanship: 2,5 success
Total Score: 1
Total Letter Score: 5
Result: Jemima writes back after a month of waiting. Her response disappoints you greatly and you fall into a great depression after reading her words. She says she no longer works with the dark arts and warns you about doing the same. She tells you not to write again unless it’s to warm her soul with good news. Your investigation has come to an end.
An abrupt end to this campaign, but that’s what happens when the dice do not roll our way. It’s a shame, too, because I hadn’t yet reached the scenarios that really delved into the horror of the campaign. Shadow and Ink (affiliate link) does have an optional rule that allows you to write a response letter if your investigation comes to an end and hopefully score well enough to continue with the story. I am not going to do that, at least not now. It was already going to be difficult for me to finish this before Halloween and adding more letters would make it impossible. I’m not saying that I won’t try and pick it up again in the future, but I’m okay setting it aside for now.
(Read the next letter here.)
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