The investigators find their first foray into the library’s holdings somewhat frustrating, for although they locate several volumes that address unusual customs and beliefs, both within the Amazon Basin and New York State, nothing that they read points specifically to either of the named deities that the group had discovered.

However, Sully had collected a book on notable crimes in New York City’s early history and within it, the reporter finds an account of an individual who had been arrested for defiling graves in the area of the city now commonly referred to as Hell’s Kitchen. The perpetrator, one Jonathan Burke, assaulted an undertaker while being placed under arrest, wounding the poor man grievously with a dagger. Burke was reportedly a madman and claimed that he was able to help those he was attempting to exhume return to life. Scribbled writings that Burke made in his cell made reference, among other things, to entities named “Yog Sothoth” and “Nyogtha”. The writings were dismissed as the product of a deeply disturbed mind and Burke was eventually sent to a sanitarium, where he perished a few years later.

The name “Nyogtha” appears again in one of the volumes Melissa Lassiter provided, a book dedicated to pagan beliefs and practices in colonial New York. Information on the deity is sketchy, primarily derived from whispered folk tales. It is said that the god lives within the dark depths of the earth and that it rules over “the dead that cannot rest” and “the eaters of carrion”. Many of the stories and superstitions involving Nyogtha appear to have been actively suppressed by the church, which condemned such beliefs as witchcraft. One anecdote suggests some evidence of the god’s worship was located on Manhattan Island, but provides no detail about what specifically was discovered, only stating that what had been collected was burned.

Arthur's head hurt, and he needed a cigarette. The coffee helped with his energy levels, but not the headache. Worse yet, Arthur felt that he was not contributing in the way he felt he could.

"Well, then...no guesses where the Bishop family has roots, then. Probably right back to those days, eh? We should try to find the asylum this Burke went to."

Sully asks Miss Lassiter for genealogical resources concerning Manhattan and the outer boroughs, specifically looking for Bishop's roots.

How long ago did Burke die?

The information on Jonathan Burke indicates that he passed away in 1875 at the age of 34, while committed to the recently opened Hudson River State Hospital in Poughkeepsie. He hung himself in his room. The book notes that Burke was a carriage driver by profession, and that he was sometimes engaged in transporting bodies to the Bishop Memorial Cemetery. His physicians theorized that it was these errands that led to the man’s unhealthy obsession with the dead.

Lassiter returns shortly, followed by a neatly dressed, dark haired man who Wells immediately recognizes as Lucas Choffard, the European history professor.

Lassiter nods when Sully inquires about genealogical resources. Motioning for the reporter to follow, as well as Arthur, if the photographer is so inclined, the librarian leads the way to the staircase near the circulation desk. ”We have extensive genealogical holdings upstairs,” she says as they walk, ”We get a fair number of visitors from outside of the university, hoping to learn something of their families. I enjoy helping them. Some have uncovered some very interesting facts about their ancestors.”

On the upper floor, Lassiter halts at a group of shelves in the southwest corner of the maze of holdings. Gesturing to two rows of books, she says, ”These should be specific to Manhattan and the neighboring boroughs, so this would be the best place to start. I need to go downstairs, just to make certain I haven’t left anyone waiting to check out any books, but I’ll return shortly to assist you, if you need any help.”

OOC: Sully, and Arthur if you tagged along, please give me another Library Use roll. You may both subtract 20 from the roll, due to Miss Lassiter directing you to resources specific to your search.

”Good morning, Wells,” Choffard says in greeting with a warm smile, ”Miss Lassiter tells me that you’re researching some rather obscure religious traditions.”

Arthur keeps with the good doctor, but becomes increasingly frustrated with his own uselessness in research.

OOC: "01:48, Today: Arthur G. Flatt rolled 63 using 1d100-20 with rolls of 83.  Library Use (30)."

My luck is not serving me well. :)

In reply to Lucas Choffard (msg # 23):

"Choffard! A good morning to you as well. Yes indeed. I came across some rather interesting material recently. A colleague of mine took a picture of these, and I transcribed what I could of it, but could not make out head or tail of it."

He hands him what he has transcribed from the two tablets.

"So far, what Miss Lassiter has helped me to find speaks to Yog-Sotthoth and Nyogtha. Have you heard of these?"

Professor Choffard reads the transcription that Wells hands to him. “Remarkable,” he says, after a moment.

Returning his attention to Wells, he asks, ”Wells, I wonder if you and your colleague here would be willing to accompany me up to the third floor, to the rare books collection? I think there’s a volume there that might be of interest to you.”
This message was last edited by the player at 15:03, Fri 03 June 2022.

Cooling himself off, Arthur greeted Professor Choffard, and stood up to follow him. He didn't say anything beyond greeting the man, thinking it proper if the group's own Professor Wells were to head the conversation.

OOC: Keeper, was Arthur able to find the time to develop all of the photos? I don't recall getting an answer on this earlier

"Yes, absolutely. This is my friend, Flatt, a very talented photographer," he said, introducing the men politely as they walked toward the indicated section. "Flatt, Choffard is one of my colleagues here at the university."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor Choffard."

Sully smiles and thanks the delightful Miss Lassiter. He peruses the titles of the books and then plucks the two or three most promising titles from the shelves. He takes them to a reading table, laying  his notebook open beside them.

Sullivan (Sully) Quinn rolled 0 using 1d100-20 for Library Use 70%, which I guess means the actual roll was 20 and I have effectively rolled 01?

”Likewise, Mr. Flatt,” Choffard says, shaking the photographer’s hand.

The rare books collection is located at the northern end of the library’s third floor. It is only sporadically visited during each semester, primarily by faculty members, visiting scholars, and the occasional ambitious graduate student. Now, at the height of summer, it is almost eerily quiet, so much so that the three mens’ footsteps seem especially loud in contrast.

Inside, Choffard speaks in low tones to a white haired, bespectacled librarian with an impressive mustache. The librarian, Paul Brink, directs the trio to a spacious reading room before disappearing through a nearby door.

Brink returns after a few moments, carrying a black, leather bound book and a thick folio. He deposits both on the table and excuses himself, informing the researchers that he will be at his desk should they need further assistance.

There is something about the appearance of the book that is immediately off putting to both Wells and Flatt. Impressions of hand and fingerprints, along with the marks of fingernails, are visible on the worn cover, giving the immediate sense that the tome was clutched frequently and possessively by its owner, as if they were greedy for the volume’s contents and extremely protective of them. The edges of the pages have an odd coloration, a wavering charcoal hue that grows black in some spots. Even from the few moments the book has been present in the room, the men can perceive a distinct, musty odor arising from it.

Choffard clears his throat. Cultes des Goules. I haven’t looked into the volume’s history deeply, but it’s my understanding that there are only about a dozen copies in existence. Columbia came by this one by way of one of its former history faculty, who stumbled upon it while examining the records of a defunct abbey in the vicinity of Herefordshire.”

“When Miss Lassiter mentioned some of the names you were researching I recalled the book. I’ve only examined it on a couple of occasions myself. It’s honestly fascinating, but…strangely unsettling to peruse. In content, it seems to be primarily devoted to the worship of an entity called Nyogtha, a malevolent god said to dwell deep in the earth, but I distinctly recall the mention of Yog Sothoth as well, I believe in relation to a rite which purported to raise the dead to life.”

“The text itself is primarily in French,” he continues, tapping the folio that accompanied the book with one finger, ”but apparently the monk who came into possession of it translated most of its key passages into English.” He pauses, then adds, ”Before he supposedly went mad and gouged out his own eyes.”

OOC: That roll would assuredly count as a critical success, Sully. :)

Sully digs into his research. After a time, the reporter is certain he has identified the line of the Bishop family which is tied to the Lower East Side of New York. From there, working diligently, he comes across a wealth of information.

• The earliest record of this line of Bishops is one Agatha Bishop, who fled from Arkham’s bloody witch trials in 1692, at the age of fifteen. The only relative of Agatha’s in Massachusetts who Sully finds reference to is one Sermon Bishop, a cousin, who reportedly settled in the Arkham area.
• Agatha Bishop took up residence on Manhattan island in 1693, and soon became the mistress of a wealthy merchant, one Charles Rowancroft. He died suddenly a year later, “of greate congestion of the centres of the hearte,” leaving his considerable fortune to Agatha Bishop.
• In 1695, Agatha purchased the land upon which the Stanton Street Cemetery now occupies, and there built Bishop House, in which she lived alone until giving birth in 1703. In a firm hand the clerk writes, “To her, a bastard sonne, Lazarus.”
• The ship’s logs of Capt. Andreas Van Derzanden show that in the years 1708 and 1711 Agatha Bishop Rowancroft chartered his vessel for extended visits to Hispaniola. The captains complained of the heat there, of the idleness, and of the unsavory visitors which Mrs. Rowancroft insisted visit her aboard. At the end of her second voyage, she returned home with a large, heavy coffin, which the sailors greatly feared. Capt. Van Derzanden nonetheless comments appreciatively when discussing the charter fees, and in 1715 sails her to Egypt, for another extended stay. From there she brings back to New York “many foulsome thinges” which Capt. Van Derzanden unfortunately does not detail.
• Lazarus Bishop grew into an unpleasant-looking young man of poor reputation. His mother adopted and cared for many of his bastard offspring. Lazarus himself vanished in the year 1728, without trace. Six children survived him: Charles (1720-1744), James (1721-174O), William (1722-1751), Edward (1723-1745), Elizabeth (1725-1766), and Seth (1726-1749).
• Agatha Bishop outlived her grandsons as well as her son: Charles died of a fever; William died of heart failure; Seth and Edward Bishop vanished as mysteriously as their father; James went mad in his sixteenth year and was confined in the cellar of Bishop House, where he died of a violent seizure three years later.
• Elizabeth Keziah Bishop never married. She issued nine bastard children. Like their uncles, these children remained at Bishop House; after Elizabeth died in 1766, they cared for the now very old Agatha Bishop.
• Several accounts mention incidentally that Elizabeth Bishop was never seen after her 23rd birthday.
• In 1770, age 93, Agatha Bishop died. She was buried near Bishop House.
• In 1779, one of Elizabeth’s grandchildren, George Edward Bishop, founded Bishop Memorial Cemetery, where the remains of Agatha Bishop were the first to be interred.
• Subsequent records indicate that a number of Bishops adopted several or many children in the 19th century.

As the book was brought in, Arthur drew in a sharp breath and held it tight, as if otherwise he would face some sort of a consequence. The thing sure wasn't right, as far as he was concerned. No book he'd ever seen looked like that or left an impression like this book left on him.

He commented on the book's title, stupidly asking an obvious question to try and mask his nervousness.

"So...that would mean, what, Cult of Ghouls?"

He listened in again, until the professor mentioned bringing back the dead.

"R-raise the dead to life? That's ridiculous," Arthur said, before hysterically laughing for a moment. Clearing his throat, he said, "I apologize."

Quinn closes the book and reads over his notes to make sure he hasn’t omitted anything. He shakes a cigarette out of his pack buy, not seeing any ashtray, puts it between his lips without lighting it. "Agatha,” he murmurs.

Tucking the cigarette into his breast pocket, he goes to ask the capable Miss Lassiter for a volume on Massachusetts colonial history. He wants to know more about Arkham and it’s part in the witch-hunt that swept that colony.

Choffard regards Flatt with an understanding smile. “Taken in the light of day, it does seem rather outrageous, doesn’t it?” he says, ”The fascination for academics like myself and Professor Wells lies in how deeply held such beliefs are held by the people who espoused them. I don’t know specifically what you’re looking into with your research, but if the people you’re studying showed reverence toward the kind of entities described in this book, I truly wouldn’t be surprised if they believed such things as raising the dead to be possible.”

He shifts his attention to Wells. ”While I doubt that Paul could permit you to take these items off campus, I feel certain he could be persuaded to allow you to take them to your office for study, if you feel that would be worthwhile.”

Miss Lassiter listens to Sully’s request, smiling as she considers it. ”You know, one thing I’ve always enjoyed about this position is the challenges it offers. Professor Wells has certainly helped me sharpen my skills.”

Gesturing for the reporter to follow her, she leads him to the library’s impressive card catalog. Moving efficiently among the drawers, her fingers flipping through entry after entry, she sighs triumphantly as she locates what she was looking for. ”I thought I remembered it. When I was still a student in the program, I had to help a PhD candidate with his research on the witch trials in New England.”

Taking Sully into the tall stacks of Low’s history holdings, she locates an old book with a worn cloth cover on one of the bottom shelves. ”I think this may give you the information you’re looking for.”

She offers it to Quinn, who can see that the fading title on the cover reads ”Prodigies in the New England Canaan”.

Sully returns to the room where the genealogy books still await and begins to scan “Prodigies in the New England Canaan”. He’s watching for references to anyone named Bishop, Agatha and Sermon in particular.

"The people I'm studying do seem to have shown great interest in these entities and I have no doubt process such beliefs, irrational as they might be. I would be quite grateful for the opportunity for further study in my office, and I must say, I am incredibly thankful for your assistance in helping me locate this tome. I know few others that have as deeply shared interest in these strange matters as you and I," he said with a smile.

Hoping not to make himself out to be an idiot, Arthur said nothing more at this time, letting Professor Wells do the speaking. He did give a quick echo of Professor Wells' thanks at the appropriate time, and reached out to shake Choffard's hand.

Perusing Prodigies in the New England Canaan, Sully quickly learns that the book was authored by the Reverend Ward Phillips of Arkham, Massachusetts and is a history of witchcraft in New England, with a particular emphasis on the Miskatonic Valley area. With some searching, Sully is able to locate a section on Sermon Bishop:

”Another man thought leagued with the Devil was one Sermon Bishop, of Bad Water Road in Arkham, along with his fellow wizard, Richard Russel. This Russel lived in Arkham as well, at the western end of what we now know as Main Street. The two were said to worship a demon which lived beneath the ground, and that they had pacted with the devil and could not die.”

“Among those alive today some remember Sermon Bishop, who was among Arkham’s first settlers, and they swear that he never aged in all the long years he resided here. His wicked pact, they say, only left Bishop stooped and bent in consequence. Witnesses also tell of both men’s evil doings in burial plots, attempting blasphemical resurrections.”

“Arkham residents rose up against him, and some say kidnapped and killed him, burying the body in the forest or sacking and weighting it down into the Miskatonic in A.D. 1752.”

Agatha Bishop is mentioned as a suspected prodigy of her older cousin, Sermon, and a member of a coven the wizard formed. Even as a young teenager, she was said to be regarded with fear by many Arkham residents, terrible misfortunes falling on those who came into conflict with her. More than one account mentions the great intelligence the girl possessed, which was said to be far beyond her years.

When suspicions of witchcraft arose within Arkham, Agatha was quick to flee, as did Sermon’s fellow wizard Richard Russel. Russel was rumored to have vanished overseas into Northern Africa, but Agatha’s ultimate location was unknown to Reverend Phillips, a matter that seemed to be a source of considerable concern to the author.

”Glad to be of help,” Choffard says, ”Those of us who share a fascination with the occult need to help one another. The rest of the academic establishment certainly won’t.”

Shaking both men’s hands, the history professor tells Wells before departing, ”If you have some time to spare, I’d be interested to hear your impressions of that book, once you’ve had the opportunity to study it.”

A few minutes pass and Paul Brink enters the reading room with a carefully completed form that he presents to Professor Wells for his signature. Wells sees that it is a simple record, indicating that Cultes des Goules and its accompanying folio are being entrusted to his care for study at his campus office.

”Be mindful when you handle the book,” Brink advises the professor, wiggling his fingers, ”Wash your hands after. The cover seems to turn them black.”

"Thank you for that note. I do have some gloves that I use to handle special materials, so perhaps that would be of use as well," he said as he signed. He looked at the cover to see if it was caked in any notable residue.