Call of Cthulhu - Session two Summary

Note: Call of Cthulhu - Dramatis personæ has been updated.

(summary of previous sessions - session one)

Continuing Wednesday 27th April 1921


Rosalind calls the university, to find out when Professor Bremer is free

• Talks to the department secretary Monica Lebrun
•  Pretends to want to speak to the Prof in regards to an article she is writing
• finds out the prof is free at midday, having classes till then
• Is unable to convince the secretary to tell her where exactly the professor will be leading up to that time
• makes an appointment to see him at midday

 Rosalind then talks to the operator and gets put through to place that hires cars - Joe's Garage. Luckily they have two cars available and agree to drive them over.

1919 Model T Touring Car

1919 Model T Center Door Sedan

Nick drives the the two mechanics back to Joe's, asking them where he can get some food. They point out the nearby diner.

Rosalind and Gino go door knocking, pretending to be a married couple, asking questions about Jenny. Besides confirming that Jenny had a car, they learn nothing new.

Gino then goes off to the train station to pick up Dr. Nathan "Doc" Hawkes from the train station. Doc, due to having to deal with existing appointments and organising for his patients to be looked after by another doctor took the later train.

While all this was going on, Jimmy and Archibald look over the books in the house to see if anything catches their eyes. Besides some pulp novels, classics and academic text books relating to Jenny's Husband's profession Archibald turns up some pamphelts from a local church. Reading over one, it looks pretty standard looking like similar ones he's seen for churches in Boston.

Nick suggests they head to the diner since they haven't had breakfast and to get some coffee. Everyone does so.

At the diner, people discuss what they know so far and try and work out what to do next. The group decides to split, with some going to the University to see the Professor while the rest decide to go and check out the church.

Jimmy, Adam, Nick (driving as he signed for one of the cars) and Rosalind go to the University to speak to the Professor.

•  Adam apologies to the Prof for the interview cover Rosalind used earlier
• Edward Bremer is a professor of Greek and Roman art and architecture
• The Bremers last saw Jenny on Friday night when she had dinner with them. Jenny brought dessert
• Rosalind recalls seeing the cleaned dessert dish in the kitchen
• Jenny did not turn up for church on Sunday
• When the Bremers check on her to see if she was well (Jenny was having dinner with the Bremers on Sunday night) there was no sign of her, hence the contacted the police
• Didn't believe the police story of her running off as uncharacteristic of Jenny, and nothing seemed amiss with her.
• Jenny had been assisting the parish priest visit some of the small local towns, talking to the resisdents
• The last town she visited was on Thursday. Jenny had talked about it at dinner on Friday night, but made no mention of anything being amiss or unusual about that or any of the other small towns they had visisted
• The priest had asked for volunteers a couple of weeks ago to assist him doing this. Jenny had volunteered due to her husband being away and she having some free time.
• Party asks to speak to Mrs Bremer. Prof happy for them to do so, Mrs Bremer has a spare key to Jenny's house she can give them so they can get into the house. (the party had not told the prof they'd already gained entrance)
• Prof's secretary makes a booking at the local hotel for the group.
• While the prof was out of his office to call and make sure his wife is home, they have a cursory look over his office. Cannot see anything unusual or out of the ordinary. Jimmy overhears the Prof's end of the convo confirming he appears to be doing what he said he would.
• The party believes the professor to be honest with them and genuinely concerned about Jenny's welfare.

Gino, Doc and Archie go to the church and speak to the priest.

• The priest's name is Father Patrick Marston
• He had last seen Jenny on Thursday, from their last visit to the surrounding towns.
• After reading an article in the local paper he asked for volunteers
• Jenny and her husband were regulars, and participated in the church fetes, picnics etc
• Father Marston did not notice anything out of the ordinary about Jenny nor the towns they visisted. Majority of the folks were friendly
• The party convinces the father to give them a copy of the article
• It concerns one Lonnie Garber's claim that  he has witnessed the rites of a Devil-worshipping  cult  near Oak Valley, Iowa on the night of the 8th April. Garber claims to have seen a number of naked people cavorting and performing animal  sacrifices. The article makes several jeering comments about Garber's sanity and sobriety.
• While Father Martson did not believe that  Devil Worship was occurring he thought it might be good to go and spread the word of god and of the goodness of their church to the outlying towns that did not have their own churches
• Father Marston also mentioned that he was saddened to read that poor Mr Garber was killed by an animal attack. He gives the party this article as well
•   Lonnie  Garber's crushed body is found in a small stream near Oak Valley; the cause of  death is given as an attack by an unknown wild  animal. The newspaper makes a brief apology for the
  statements about Garber' but again nothing more specific is said about the matter. The article was from the 25th April paper.
• Archie notes both articles are by the same reporter.
• Father Marston thinks it highly unlikely that Jenny would have run off
• The party believes Father Marston to be honest with them
• Gino, Doc and Archie head back to Jenny's house

Jimmy, Adam, Nick and Rosalind head over to the Bremer residence and meet Beth Bremer. Mrs Bremer supplies Adam with the spare key to Jenny's residence. Mrs Bremer invites them to come back for dinner later that day. They don't learn anything new.

The investigators regroup at Jenny's house, exchanging info on what they have learnt.

•  Archie believes 8th of April is Saint Jerome's day
• Gino and Nick work out 8th of April was the New Moon or Dark of the Moon
• The only large animal that could cause crushing damage that comes to Doc's mind is a bear
• Doc tries calling the local hospital to find more info out about Garber's body. The hospital refuses to give out details over the phone to some person calling up and claiming to be a doctor

Archie and Rosalind head over to the newspaper office to talk to the reporter responsible for the articles. They find the office to be quite small and the reporter in question not there. The editor tells them he is over at the university doing a story on some up and coming baseball players. They head over there and chat to him.

• He didn't go out to Oak Valley to check it out as the guy was obviously drunk, likely drinking his own corn mash moonshine
• The policeman that was involved with the body was Officer Hibler
• He didn't personally see the body

The rest of the group head over to the hospital. They talk to the doctor who signed the death certificate. Doc uses a cover story that he's been looking into bear deaths and from the article suspects that this is what it is.

•  The local doctor quizzes Doc on what sort of trauma's he's seen relating to bear deaths.
• While he has not seen a death like the state Garber's body was in, what else could it have been besides an animal attack, likely a bear
• The body has already been buried. No reason to hang onto the body and Garber did not have any kin

The party regroups at Jenny's house. Nick and Doc head over to the university library.

• Doc does some research into bear deaths
• Nick first looks into Saint Jerome and discovers that his feast day is not the 8th of April but in fact 30 September (Western Christianity) or 15 June (Eastern Christianity)
• Nick calls the house to advise them he won't make it for dinner
• looking into worship on the new moon or Dark of the Moon, discovers that historically from a pagan perspective it's seen as the transition between the death of the old and the birth of the new.

The rest of the party (those invited) get ready and head off to the Bremers for dinner.