Chapter One: Rhapsody in Blood

Helena: you clearly recall the name Ladona. She is known world-wide as one of the best mystics and most accurate fortune tellers ever. She has traveled Europe and given advice to everyone from kings to the Pope. In the US, she has been hired by wealthy businessmen from coast to coast, and has even advised the President. She has participated in validity testing at various universities, and has never been proven to be a fraud.

As you sit and watch, you see that the average person leaving the library is happy, as if just having received good news. A few people are sad or upset. One woman is crying. You then notice that your friend Thad is quickly approaching the library.

Thad: you leave the arms of your young lady. She is clearly angry at you abandoning her. As you walk away, you catch her muttering under her breath. She is saying something in a foreign language. You recognize the language as one spoken by ancient tribes in the jungles of South America, where you had your most recent (and most deadly) adventure.

You walk towards the library, passing Helena sitting by herself at a small table.

Lenny: inside the library, you easily dominate the room and move towards the front. But Madam Ladona gazes at you and says quietly, "just as the stars wait to be born, so too must all men wait their turn to learn their truths." You are stunned by this, and stand back from her table. You witness several other guests enter and sit. Ladona has no cards or crystal ball. She does not perform any rituals or prayers. She simply looks each guest in the eye for a few seconds, then whispers a quiet phrase. Some leave happy, others seem crushed. The air in the room seems stagnant and thick. One of your girls starts to cry suddenly, and rushes away. The other looks to you briefly, them rushes after her friend.

Upon entering the library, Thad cautiously eyes the woman who claims to have mystical powers. Magic has always fascinated him. He studies the woman to see if there maybe anything magical about her on her person he may have read from the college library.



if there is anything mystical or if I can remember reading about her....

Helena: you sit there waiting. There isn't really a line of people waiting to go in, but you can see that there are small groups of people in the hall that are paying close attention to the library door. They are talking quietly to each other. You guess that they are daring each other to go in.

Make a Perception check.

Thad: You know a few facts about Madam Ladona. See above as to what Helena remembers; you know the same facts. Your keen eye does not pick out any specific item that seems to be magical or mystical in nature. The library is dark due to the curtains being drawn. There are candles lit and placed all around the room. There is enough light to study the room completely. You are almost more fascinated by the books and displays here than the fortune teller. After standing there a few moments, you see a large man in a blue suit sit down. He speaks quietly to Ladona. A minute later, she stands suddenly and walks directly to you.

Lenny: Ladona stares at you silently for a moment, then leans away from you. She does not take your hand or touch you. "Ah, you think me a charlatan; a performer. No, Leonard Salvesen, I am not one of your fellow carnival folk. Perhaps your mind is not prepared to venture into the hidden depths of knowledge. But soon, I think. Soon." She stands suddenly, with a look of awe and terror on her face. "But there is one here who has experienced the darkest type of learning there can be." She moves to a tall, lanky figure standing in the corner. He seems a little out of place from the other guests. He is dressed as an academic, rather than a member of the high class. Ladona reaches out her hands to the man. "Do you suffer, my child? Do the dreams haunt you? I can care for you."

Lenny comes out of the library a bit sullenly with his hands buried deep into his pockets, hopelessly looking around for the two girls, or maybe another agreeable female. He notices Helena sitting there and eases over next to her, grabbing a couple champagne glasses off of a passing server.

"Nothing more pathetic than a huckster that thinks she's the real McCoy. I used to know this snake charmer worked for a show out of Buffalo. Talented fella, put on a heck of a show. Shared a sleeping bag with three diamondback rattlesnakes because he thought he could "commune" with the damn things. We buried him three weeks after we hired him before we moved the show to the Bronx."

He downs one glass, then hesitates a moment like he's going to offer it to Helena, then downs the other one, before eyeballing her and realizing he might look like an ass.

"Get'cha a drink miss Tunt? What's your pleasure? No good to eat on an empty stomach,"


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

As Thad reaches out for the hand of Madam Ladona, he was still trying to process what she had asked him. Mostly confused, Thad was only able to stutter out:

"What dreams do you speak of Madam Ladona?"

Thad: as soon as Ladona takes your hand, her eyes roll back in her head. A wind sweeps around the library, causing the candles to flicker. A few books and papers are knocked to the floor. Ladona starts to speak in a deep voice that resonates through the room. Everything seems to vibrate as she speaks. "I speak of the jungle. I speak of the deep caves and the rituals performed in their darkness. I speak of that which you experienced but have locked away in your mind and try to forget. I speak of the Cult of Karnos." As soon as she mentions the name, memories and images flood your mind. You fell to your knees, still clutching Ladona's hand, as you see your journey into the jungles of Brazil. You see yourself defending into the caves and observing the cult members at their hideous activities. You see yourself retrieving the artifact, but then being set upon by the cultists. You see the memories you have blocked out. You see the tortures you experienced. You see the flash of knives and the scarlet flecks of your own blood. You hear yourself scream in pain. As you come out of the memory, you realize you are screaming now, in the library.

ROLL SANITY.

Lenny and Helena: within moments, you hear a man screaming in pain from the library. The guests that were in there are rushing out. They appear frightened and shocked.