We are playing Yuigaron's Sworn by Ghostlight tri-fold game available on his itch site. Check out Session Zero for more on the character, Detective Tiberius R. Remus, the city of Mónaþstone, and the Ebon Wood Effigy case.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Selma C. Belright, Occult Detective
Personal Journal
2 January, 1937 GLR
0945
Today marks two years since Detective Remus vanished. After a lot of therapy, I finally feel capable of recounting those last hours in the Warlock's Lair. In honor of the Detective, I have decided to record this last portion of his story in my personal journal.
My therapist says that this might well bring me closure and peace. But they didn't see what I saw in that room. I always believed the Ghostlight phenomena was the source of magic in our world—but if Elijah Tubblebottom was to be believed, it only served to magnify the magic already in our world. But I digress. Let me get this down while I have the courage and fortitude to do so.
2 January 1935 GLR
1455
Tubblebottom's Bountiful Botany, Ember Lane, Mónaþstone
Action
By the time I returned from summoning the Bureau to Tubblebottom's apothecary, Remus had already canvassed the main room and discovered a note hidden inside the cracks between the main counter and the wall. The paper was yellowed, and burnt on the edges, but seemed to be relatively new. The ink, a dark red, seemed fresh as well. He held out the note to me silently.
It read:
Detective Remus and Miss Belright,
It appears you have come much closer than I expected to finding my location. So I will offer you two bits of information I know you do not yet possess.*
1. You will find the safety deposit box somewhere within this shop. It will be instrumental in leading you to me.
2. Where I am requires much sacrifice to reach.
To that end, I should explain myself. You see, reaching this place—or time, I should say—of existence required the lives of five innocent souls. I do not make the rules, Detective. This magic is beyond even my very considerable abilities. The aconitum napellus, of which I now have a renewable source, took their lives as quickly and painlessly as possible. I assure you, I sacrificed my victims with the utmost care and respect. I, though you may find it hard to believe, do not relish the taking of life. Yet, the requirement remained.
Miss Adelaide Montegomery, however, was not on my list. Oh, she was a pure enough soul, despite what society might suggest given her trade. But her death was not necessary. Rather, I needed the location of the ring. You see, the ring that was in Miss Montegomery's possession belonged to a rival family. The Gotelle family and my own have been in a state of conflict for three thousand years. Indeed, my four times great grandmother and the equally removed great grandmother of Ebenzer Cooley, you will remember him from the Smoke Street flats, were bitter foes. The Gotelle coven, in an attempt to steal our connection to magic, cast a spell that split the surface of the moon—the source of all magics. Some of that initial outpouring of pure magic was captured by my family and trapped inside a gem made from a moonstone. Somehow, the Gotelle family acquired this gem, and the ring it was set in, and passed it down for generations.
When I discovered the Cooley boy possessed the ring, I tried to buy it off him. I even tried to win it from him in a game of chance. But, somehow, he managed to resist the allure of my not-so-insignicant sum of money. He even refused my game of chance, which surprised me. Cooley has a reputation as a gambler. Anyway, I learned soon after that he had given the ring to the care of his then girlfriend, Adelaide Montegomery. And she was keeping it in a safe box in the local branch of the Mónaþstone bank. Thus, she became the final casualty in my family's millennia old war against the Gotelle clan.
Now you know the full story, Detective. I suspect you still wish to bring me to justice. I respect that. But I simply cannot allow it. You can, however, try. Find the safety deposit box. That is your final challenge, Detective.
Miss Belright, you are an exceptional person. Do not let what is likely to happen here today dampen that bright mind or your drive. I apologize profusely that you became wrapped up in this so soon.
Yours truly,
Elijah Tubblebottom, Chief Warlock of House Morgana
P.S. The Ebon wood woman is a customary gift to the sacrificial victims of the ancient La Fey cult. It is so that the goddess will show them special mercy when they enter her realm. I do not expect you would have ever uncovered that mystery. You're welcome.
Action Result
Resource Update
"What do you make of that?" Detective Remus asked when I finished reading the letter.
"I...have heard of the Gotelles. They were an important family in my hometown."
"Were there ever rumors of them being involved in magic?"
"No. Not that I recall. They were well loved by the townspeople. I went to school with one of the Gotelle girls. She was always very kind."
"I suspect, Miss Belright, that our murderer is quite insane. I have always been able to sense the presence of Ghostlight, but I have never seen anyone wield it as magic."
"I, too, have a sense for it, Detective. But, I sense nothing here outside of the faint traces from the crystal."
Remus nodded his head, and grunted. "I suspect we should look for this safety deposit box."
The two of us began to comb over the side rooms. I found some interesting bottles of a green, viscous liquid labeled arsenic hidden behind a line of tattered, leatherbound books on a decrepit bookcase. Arsenic, I knew from my studies, was an Old World poison that, like Wolfsbane, had not been seen since the upheaval caused by the Ghostlight phenomena.
A small desk contained rolled parchments, most of which were in a language I vaguely recognized as a form of ancient Greek, a language that hadn't been spoken in close to five thousand years. I couldn't read it, but I did recognize several of the letters. The diagrams sketched on more modern paper were intriguing but beyond my field of expertise. I made a mental note to scan and catalog each one when we were finished processing the apothecary.
"Miss Belright!"
Action
I retraced my steps down the narrow corridor and back into the main room. The glow of Remus's torch lit the small, adjacent room and I headed for it. When I stepped inside, I could see that it was full of crates and boxes. Dust motes swirled in the still, almost chill, air of the room. A small table was positioned behind a three-high stack of crates. On the table was a small safe.
"It was locked, but I managed to crack the code. I must say, Tubblebottom is either a fool or he set the code to be easy to crack."
"What's inside?"
"The safety deposit box." Detective Remus reached inside and pulled a shallow, thirty centimeter metal box onto the table.
The safety deposit box opened with little effort. Inside, among the various papers and an envelope filled with fine jewelry was a large, polished and expertly cut white stone set in a ring of pure gold. I could see the tell-tale wisps of Ghostlight flickering over the stone's surface. Remus, I knew, could see it too—and perhaps even more, with his decades of experience.
"Tubblebottom wasn't lying about the ring's connection to the Ghostlight phenomenon, it appears."
"No sir, he certainly wasn't."
Action Result
Resource Update
"There's something...off about this ring. Can you see it too?"
I looked closer at the stone and, after a moment, realized that the wisps of Ghostlight were emanating from *inside* the stone itself. Along the seemingly immaculate surface of the stone were very fine cracks. They appeared to be natural, in the sense that there was no evidence that the stone had been chiseled. Each crack intersected with at least one of the others, and none were straight or regular.
"The Ghostlight comes from within."
"Indeed. Miss Montegomery never knew what she had. I suspect Mr. Cooley didn't either."
Ask the Oracle
As we spoke, Remus began to reach out to the ring. His hand trembled as though he was trying to resist the urge to touch the evidence with his bare hand.
"Detective, I'm not sure you should—"
As I was speaking, his hand snapped out and snatched up the ring. As I watched with a look of horror on my face, Detective Remus slipped the ring onto his finger. His skin turned bright white, and his eyes blazed like blue flames as a scream that I can still hear five years later rushed out of his mouth. Before my eyes, the floor began to swirl with a concentrated Ghostlight that I had never witnessed before.
A hard shove to my chest sent me stumbling back into the wall. I screamed as my foot felt as though it was being ripped off. Looking down, I saw that the shoe on my right foot was missing, and bright red scrapes bloomed along my ankle.
Remus, his mouth no longer agape but set in a firm line, looked straight at me with his unnerving blue-white eyes. I reached my hand out toward him, as if I could save him. He shook his head, almost imperceptibly, telling me no. Then, with a rush of frigid air, Detective Remus vanished. As I stood in complete shock, the swirling mass of Ghostlight shrank until it was a mere pinprick on the ground. The moonstone lay shattered, only a faint, shimmering mist radiated out of the broken remains of the rock.
On the table, I found the note from Tubblebottom tucked into a leatherbound journal with the letters "TRR" etched into the cover. I opened it and saw the familiar scrawl of Detective Remus on the inside cover.
Dear Miss Belright,
If something should happen to me, this journal belongs to you. I have high expectations for your future as a detective. You have the mental faculties and the strength of heart to excel at the task. Never give up in the pursuit of truth.
Yours,
Tiberius R. Remus
The door to the apothecary slammed open and a group of black armored officers poured in, their guns held at the ready. Chief Dashell brought up the rear of the task force, her striking features unmistakable even in the dim light of the store.
"Detective? Miss Belright?" Chief called out, after the task force leader declared all-clear in the main room.
"In here, Chief," I replied, my voice hoarse.
Dashell and the task force leader, who I now recognized as Sargeant Cawley, stepped into the room with me.
"What happened, Miss Belright? Where is Detective Remus?"
I explained what happened to the best of my ability and handed Chief Dashell the letter Tubblebottom left. After she read the note, she issued an order to Sergeant Cawley to call in another station's Crime Scene analyst and took me by the arm. She led me out to the street and watched me closely.
"What you have seen today is not for the faint of heart. The existence of magic is all but forgotten, though very real, as you now know. You are a brilliant woman, Selma. Detective Remus saw much promise in you he requested you be promoted to Assistant Detective of Occult Events and be trained directly by him.
"But it appears Tiberius is no longer with us. That said, if you are willing, after you are cleared by the Bureau's therapist, I will honor his wish to promote you to Assistant Detective. I will be your mentor."
"You? Are you sure Chief? You have so much on your plate."
"Yes, Selma. I am certain. Tiberius was a good friend and had an infallible eye for talent. If he believed you were capable of the task, then so do I."
"Thank you, Chief Dashell."
"You're welcome, Assistant Detective Belright. Now, the murders have been solved but the mystery remains: where are Detective Remus and Elijah Tubblebottom?"
Close the Case
Selma C. Belright, Occult Detective
Personal Journal
2 January, 1937 GLR
1010
I still can't answer Chief Dashell's question, not even two years of investigating Remus's disappearance. There's no trace of him, nor of Elijah Tubblebottom. The murders stopped with Adelaide Montegomery. The apothecary began to decay rapidly after the events of 2 January, 1935 and now is little more than a pile of dirt and rubble between the two large stonework buildings. I read in the *Gazette* yesterday that the city plans to clear the rubble and build another set of apartments. The Ghostlight echoes are still present, and I've visited it many times seeking answers, but they fade with each passing full moon. I suspect, by the time the city builds their new building, the residue of the Ghostlight event will have faded completely.
I'll have to pick this up later, someone's at the door...
2 January, 1937 GLR
1013
There was no one at the door. Just this note.
Miss Belright, it has taken me weeks to figure out how to contact you. I am alive. And in the time before the Ghostlight event. I don't know if I can make it back to our time—but I believe if anyone can figure it out, it's you. Yours—TRR
Tiberius Remus is alive, somewhere—sometime—before the Ghostlight cracked the moon. I will find out how to get to him or bring him back to our time. Somehow.
I must show this to the Chief.
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