Mayday Plays - Doomed to Repeat, Ep. 30 - “The Shadow over Innsmouth” | Delta Green

Episode Date: May 1, 2025

Welcome back to the fourth and final arc of Doomed To Repeat. Last time, the agents of PERENNIAL began unearthing the weathered, dusty psychiatric records of Daniel M. Freis—a descent that leads directly to the birth of Delta Green. Now, it's 1927. The U.S. Treasury Department has launched a secret operation to expose the rot festering in the coastal town of Innsmouth, Massachusetts. Whispers of inhuman rituals and impossible shapes in the fog have reached Washington. If a team can secure photographic proof of what's happening beneath the waves of Ipswich Bay, they’ll get the green light from President Coolidge to authorize a federal raid. But first, they must gather that evidence. A covert task force of locals has been assembled—and as they're briefed on the mission, the true horror begins to surface. In this episode, we begin our playthrough of the scenario “Escape From Innsmouth” by Kevin A. Ross and others, and published by Chaosium. TRIGGER AND CONTENT WARNINGS: Language, governmental conspiracy, drowning, death, PTSD, manipulation. Published by arrangement with the Delta Green Partnership. The intellectual property known as Delta Green is a trademark and copyright owned by the Delta Green Partnership, who has licensed its use here. The contents of this podcast are © Mayday Roleplay, excepting those elements that are components of the Delta Green intellectual property. CAST OF CHARACTERS • Lev (they/them) - Cora Loquillo (she/they) • Amanda (she/her) - Arthur Clark (he/him) • Caleb (he/him) - Kennedy Newell (he/him) • Eli (any/all) - Dr. Theodore Rooke (he/him) • Zakiya (she/they) - Freddie Thurman (she/they) • Sergio (he/him) - The Handler MUSIC & SOUND EFFECTS • Post Sound Supervision: Sergio Crego, Eli Hauschel • Mixed: Eli Hauschel • Original Music: Aaron A. Pabst • Soundstripe (soundstripe.com) • Epidemic Sound (epidemicsound.com/) • Soundly (getsoundly.com/) DELTA GREEN LINKS • Delta Green (http://deltagreen.com/) • Operation FULMINATE: Sentinels of Twilight (https://drivethrurpg.com/en/product/456340/) MAYDAY ROLEPLAY LINKS • Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/maydayrp) • Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/maydayrp) • Mayday website (https://www.maydayroleplay.com/) • Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/@Maydayrp)

Doomed to Repeat is a Delta Green actual play podcast with violent themes and adult language. Listener discretion is advised. Hello and welcome back to the fourth and final arc of our Delta Green campaign titled Doomed to Repeat. I'm Sergio, your handler. You know, it's wild to say that out loud, fourth and final. Five total years, which have been some of the most transformative of my life. When the world shut down at the start of the pandemic, I, along with the rest of May Day, made a choice.

We needed a creative outlet, something grounding, so we started what would become May Day Roleplay. What began as a leap into the unknown turned into unexpected wonderful friends and an incredible community of listeners. Since that first arc, so much has changed. May Day has grown thanks to listeners like you, but our lives have changed too. Many of us have had shifts in our careers or jobs. Many of us have moved. Some of us have lost loved ones,

some of us got married, some of us will be getting married. Love you Jenny. We here at Mayday have grown in ways that we never saw coming, and through all the ups and downs, Doomed to Repeat has been a constant in our lives, a place to pour our creative energy into, especially when we need it most. As we bring the story of Perennial to a close, I find myself deeply grateful, not just for the project itself, which has been an absolute blast despite the hours of editing, mixing,

and mastering required for it. But I'm grateful for you, our listeners. Your support has been amazing. Truly, every message, every download, every comment, it's meant the world to us. Whether this show has been a welcome escape during a hard time, or a spark of inspiration that maybe nudged you to run your own game. We're so honored that it's meant something to you. If you enjoy what we do here, be sure to like and subscribe and leave a positive review.

It really helps us get noticed by new listeners. We're still a very little show, and any support you can offer, including joining our Patreon, goes a long way towards sustaining us so that when one show ends, like Doom to Repeat, we can keep up the hard work of producing a new actual play. This episode's return to our game. America, 1927. The country has moved on beyond its rural past and forward to its urban future. Though prohibition is the law of the land, speakeasies and gin joints make it easy to enjoy the illegal spirits. The economy is booming after a world war. In September, the Columbia Phonographic Broadcasting System, later known

as CBS, is formed and goes on the air with 47 radio stations. In October, the carving of the sculptures at Mount Rushmore, South Dakota begins. And in November, the federal government led by the U.S. Treasury Department began their investigation of the degenerate town of Innsmouth, Massachusetts. This is that story. The sun rises over the Massachusetts coastline. The landscape is adorned with the remnants of autumn. Trees proudly display their fiery foliage, although some leaves have already surrendered to the ground, creating a vibrant carpet of red,

orange and gold. The sandy beaches seem untouched after an evening of gently lapping waves. Soon there will be early morning beachcombers and the eager footsteps of seagulls. But there is one place along this coast where you will find no tourists or sunshine, where a heavy blanket of marine layer hides a cancer that grows. Entrenched in Ipswich Bay, the dying town of Innsmouth. We begin a few miles offshore on a small fishing vessel, which has been out since dawn.

The sailors aboard each take their turn clocking the perpetual wall of fog. One of those sailors is a man named Kennedy Newell. Caleb, describe Kennedy and his job aboard the vessel. Kennedy is a very fresh 29. He's tall, pale, incredibly pale, haunted around the eyes, shaven except for a very bushy mustache

that seems to be the first piece of facial hair he's allowed himself to grow. Conventionally handsome but torn by some weary world's traveling. He walks with a limp in his left leg, some old war injury most could guess from the way that he walks. And carries himself like a former soldier would. He dresses in ramshackle, East Coast winter garb to protect himself from the elements. And it looks like he's been wearing the same coat for for years, maybe since he left the service. He is very stoic, is strong in his gaze, someone that if he was looking at you for too long you might feel uneasy. And he has been mostly quiet in his work, only occasionally whistling alongside the other sailors.

He's traditionally a longshoreman, so being out on the ships is not something typical, but he does take these jobs on occasion and he has a very weary understanding of what it's like out here on these waters. While your ship returns to the shore at the end of your shift, there comes a point that you notice a large black sedan parked by the dock. As you and the crew dock, you notice two men, dressed in dark topcoats, suits, and hats, approach the bosun. They exchange words before the bosun turns and points in your direction. The men don't climb aboard, but the moment your work is done and you are leaving for lunch, the two men approach you. One is tall, tall blonde and handsome

Also in his late 20s early 30s the one beside him is a perfect soldier with a thin greased mustache The tall blonde says Kennedy Newell. That's me. My name is agent Ryan. This is agent Burton We're with the US Treasury. How you doing? And he puts out a hand. If this is another draft, then I hope there's a better meal plan. No draft, soldier. But we do know that you served your country in France. We'd like to see if you're interested in maybe doing it one more time here in America. I don't take much to shores outside of these ones any longer. I'm not an invader anymore. Well, that's good because you won't be doing much invading.

In fact, we want you to work in the Massachusetts area. We understand you know the waters of this area, like the back of your hand, correct? I don't know that anyone could say they know these waters. There's things out here that few men can explain and fewer men will talk about. But sure, I know them as well as anybody else. Well, good.

Look, I can't tell you much, but I can tell you my superior would like to meet with you and a few others to discuss this matter in private. This is a classified mission, you see. We wouldn't be bothering you if we didn't think you were the only man for the job. Sure. Well, excellent.

Take me to your leader. We aren't going to take you ourselves. We would like you to meet with him tomorrow evening at 8 p.m. You're to head to the Federal Building in Boston, Room 402. You'll ask for Agent Drew. Agent Drew. Am I getting paid for this? A wry smile goes up Brian's face, almost as if he was warned that you might say something like this, and he says, Of course, you'll be paid for your time, as will everyone involved. You'll be working mostly with civilians.

Civvies? I guess I'll have to ask Agent Drew about this. I promise it'll all make sense once you meet us tomorrow. Mm-hmm. A phone number is given. The two men in coats turn and make their way back to the vehicle. The phone number is explained that you must call it to confirm that you have received this message

and that you will be at the federal building, room 402, tomorrow at 8 p.m. Do you make that phone call? Yeah I think that Kennedy's been staying in a hotel local to the area and he will go in and request use of their phone and you know pay whatever coinage he has to connect to operator and see if he can't make that call the same night. It's a short phone call but sure enough you confirm that call the same night. It's a short phone call, but sure enough, you confirm that you'll be there.

You have a little less than 24 hours before the meeting that you were told to go to. Is there anything that Kennedy does in preparation? Yeah, Kennedy's leg has been hurting him all night, especially from the boat. He always believes that the water makes his leg hurt worse than it should. So he goes up to his room in the hotel,

he shuts the door, he takes a chair from the writing desk off the side and props it in against the doorknob itself. Goes into the room, sits closest to the window, opens it up so the breeze comes through and the curtains blow about him. He removes his little fishing cap beanie and he takes out this massive vinegar jug

that he's been squirreling away under his bed. He got it from Freddy a while ago and he's been waiting to break into it. a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a- coats pull up in a black sedan. They step out and enter. What they find is an interesting sight. It is after normal church hours, and yet the church is packed with people. Zach, could you describe your character? And what does it look like? What do these two men walk into here in the Pentecostal Church? They walk into a dense wall of sound. There is a combination of a piano in the back corner. There's stomping and clapping and singing, but also the sound of like long form,

like tarrying and wailing and worshiping. You can hear people whispering and like saying quick exchanges of words as women are like filled with the Holy Ghost and babies are transferred from moms to ushers. There's noise everywhere. There's a million things going on. This is a prayer service and in the back of the church handing a box of lap scarves off to an usher is Freddie Thurman who's dressed in white, a white shirt, a simple skirt, has a fan, like the paper church fan stapled to like a thick popsicle stick, is attentive of this sea of events in front of her, but also not surprised, actually somewhat bored, and is watching the door.

You can tell that they have a longer coat or a blazer kind of on, and there's something in the back of the jacket, but you can't tell what it is. And she looks at the new people entering at the door, and there are probably two ushers that are asking them to wait. Yeah, exactly, that usher walks up to the two men,

and you can hear even over the ruckus of prayer and singing, one of the men says, We're looking for a Frederica Thoeman. The usher kind of looks in your direction, but knows from experience not to give away that it might be you that they're looking at. Freddie looks and makes eye contact with that usher and doesn't move but keeps watching. The two men turn away from the usher, kind of dismissing him and walking into the church.

They dodge out of the way of fans and hands being thrown into the air and women fainting. And they eventually spot you. The two men look in your direction, they look at each other, and they just walk right up to you. And they say, excuse me, are you Frederica Diamond? I don't, it's just Freddie. Freddie's fine.

Freddie, well, Freddie, could we talk to you in private for a little bit? It's a matter of national security. Private, well, she looks to the sea of people and back at them. Kind of hard to do that, you know, with him listening and everything. But maybe we can step outside for a little bit. As you are making your way, you kind of have to go the long way around. And so you pass the pulpit, the stage where the preacher usually stands, and the shorter man continues to speak,

and he says, uh, my name is Agent Mancini, and this is Agent Hoist. We know that you know that we know what you get up to as a business, and under different circumstances, you might be heading to Boston in handcuffs, but you're in luck, because our superiors believe that your knowledge of the underground markets in this area can prove invaluable. Now, like I said, your country needs you, and if you'd be willing to help us out, we might be willing to turn a blind eye for past indiscretions. Pardon me for speaking so forward, but we're a bit of a time crunch. Huh.

This I that turns, it turns for everybody, not just for me, right? My whole crew, everybody. Naturally, we can make sure your business associates don't catch as many strays over the coming year. Freddie, are you in or are you out? I don't think I have much of a choice. Obviously, this will be happening,

regardless of whether or not I'm here. So I'll go to your little meeting. Excellent, excellent. The address is the Federal Building, room 402. You'll ask for Agent Drew. Take this card. You're gonna want to call it

and confirm that you'll be there. Fancy. I can offer either of you something to drink in the meantime for the row. We're fine. It's a little hot out, but we'll be alright. Appreciate your time, Freddie. Have a nice day. Same to you. Watch out, you're gonna get, you know, sort of stealth anointed if you go that way. Just take the door on the side. They ignore you and sure enough, yes, they get stealth anointed if you go that way. Just take the door on the side. They ignore you and sure enough, yes, they get stealth anointed. This oily foreheads as they reach the the sedan. You have a phone number. Do you call it? I do.

Sure enough. There's a voice on the other line. It's kept brief. And they confirm that you'll be there tomorrow night. With 24 hours to prepare, do you do anything in particular, Freddie? She tells her very small team what the fuck just happened and probably, I think probably clears out the stash now that it's been found. At the end of the service, the church is empty except for one person who's probably passed out in the corner with a shawl over them. And Freddie steps over them and right under where it says,

do this in remembrance of me, there's a floorboard that lifts and there is a, to use an out of date reference, a Costco's worth of liquor underneath the pulpit. And that is emptied by the end of the night. In Newburyport, small city north of Innsmouth, in a modest estate in a dark parlor, three people sit around a circular table holding hands. One is a Lady Clifton, an older socialite obsessed with speaking with her late husband

Charles. The other is her spoiled son Arthur, who does whatever mommy tells him. And finally, there is their spirit medium. Lev, could you describe Cora and how she runs a seance? Cora Locchio is recently 24, pretty average in size, height, and general aesthetic. She wears today a blouse with a little tie in the front around the neck,

so it's kind of a high-necked thing. And there's a little keyhole underneath the tie, kind of flowing sleeves, a simple kind of maroon skirt, some heeled boots. She's got kind of long hair that really isn't in style with the modern folk. And she's kind of pinned the two sides back and just some like basic little curls. She wears a monocle around her neck that every so often she'll pull out and kind of fit into her eye. It doesn't look like it's actually practically used,

it's just kind of almost like a comfort gesture and And she's, she kind of leads this not in a religious way that some people might lead a seance, not in a, in an esoteric way, like some people might, in more of a, um, think about your family and what you want to say to them and just speak it out and see what kind of reaction we get. Just as you have passed the baton to Lady Clifton and she begins to kind of shake and feel as if she is channeling the spirit of her late husband just as she's about to speak, there is a tremendous banging sound and both her and her son scream in terror. She summoned the devil again! ringing sound, and both her and her son scream in terror. She summoned the devil again!

Arthur, I think you don't need to worry about that. She's having her feelings and processing her grief how she needs to process it. I believe that was the door though, may I? The butler opens the door, kind of as you were standing, and he says, two federal agents at the front door, madam. Lady Clifton kind of pauses and stands to deal with the butler, but he corrects her. They're here for Miss Loquillo, madam.

For me? He gestures for you to exit the room. Pardon me, I'll be back in just a moment. Think about what you want to tell Charles. And maybe, I don't know, people on this plane of existence don't like being yelled at, so maybe you also say it gently as you would to a lover. He was your lover, yes?

You were very intimate, no? We were great lovers, Arthur grimaces and says, ooh, mommy, spare me. Tell him your feelings in a way that aren't going to scar your son, but also will be enticing for him to talk to you. And I'll help facilitate when I get back. As you begin making your way out the door, you can hear the conversation between Lady Clifton and Arthur.

It sounds like he's never heard this fact that his mother was intimate with her father. And he's very curious as to what's what all of that meant but eventually you walk to their front door and they're waiting for you are two individuals hello one of them standing there and he says hello my name is agent Smith and this is Jamison. We'd like to speak to you, Miss Loquillo, if you have a minute. Es Loquillo. Loquillo, yeah, sure.

Loquillo, muy bien. We understand that you have a special set of gifts and our superior would like to invite you to participate in an operation for the U for the US government. Would you be interested in something like that? That sounds exceptionally questionable in all directions. What gifts are you referring to? Specifically, I don't know which tools I might need to bring. Specifically photography skills. We've heard you have a lot of experience with operating photographs and developing photos.

Yes, yes. I can certainly do that. I don't want to seem too eager for the government to just whisk me away to wherever they want. What's in it for me? Well if you try to seem not eager, you're kind of failing at that. But I'll play-teacher. We're aware that you participated in some services for the Averill family that live in Innsmouth, is that correct? Uh, yes. I had a seance with, uh, with Cynthia. Uh, it must have been a couple months ago.

Well, uh, we believe that your experience with that town will make you an essential asset to this mission. We understand that you're a recent U.S. citizen, and we think this would be a great opportunity for you to serve your country. Well, it wasn't my country by my choice, but if you're offering me options, who am I to say no? No? This is the land of options, Ms. Lacuyo. He hands you a small business card with a phone number on it, and he says, head tomorrow at 8 p.m. To Boston

You'll look for the federal building room 402 and you'll ask for mr. Drew. Make sure to call that number miss look key Yo, my name All right, I can do that the two men leave Miss Loquillo Lady Clifton, shall we continue? Charles, yes? Please, I think I feel him coming through me now. Ooh.

That phrasing, we will work on that phrasing. Arthur, you may want to cover your ears. Your seance becomes strangely erotic for the rest of the evening but yeah eventually you are alone and you are reminded of the card with the phone number. Do you call it? Mm-hmm yeah I'll flip it over in my fingers and I live in a house with my with my mother my aunt and my cousin and her children and I think Cora goes out into like the hallway of the building to where the one singular phone is and has to like shake off and be sort of nephew

as she goes and then they'll pick up the pick up the phone call through the operator all that jazz sure enough yes you make the appointment is there anything you do in the short time between now and tomorrow at 8 p.m. I think Cora is gonna take out her vest pocket autographic Kodak camera and she'll just kind of press open the viewfinder. She'll kind of push out the bellows looking thing of it and just really clean everything out and shine all of the joints so that it's working smoothly. She has this tiny pocket Ouija board that she's made

and, like, blessed with all of her own, like, certain magics that she, you know, like, family kind of magic blessing that she's done, so she kind of re-ups that and tucks them all away in a little, like, shoulder bag, brushes off her brown kind of trench coat, and then kind of gets halfway through explaining to her family what she's doing tomorrow, and then quickly gives up because she knows

they're gonna ask way too many questions that she doesn't have the answer to, and it's gonna just upset them. So she just says, I have a meeting tomorrow at eight, I'll be home at some point. Don't worry about it, don't wait up for me. Miss Katonic University in Arkham, Massachusetts. Within one of the halls there is the lecture room.

The lecture room is full of students and teachers listening to a lecture by Dr. Theo Rook. Eli, could you please describe what Dr. Theo Rook looks like and what are they lecturing about? Sio looks like a very, in his mid-30s, he has a graying, dark brown hair, wispy of a man with a slight haunch to his upper shoulders. He's kind of leaning up against a desk and in his hand he has this very fine piece of cloth that he's patting profusely on the top of his forehead as he's wrapping up this lecture. He's talking about his last stint up north as he has been studying and looking for colonies that broke off into more rural parts of the regions up north and trying to get more information about those

colonies and some of the superstitions that they kind of believe in. As he's trying to debunk some of the mythologies that were developed during those colonial times by bringing more logistical reason to it. So he's just explaining his last bit and he's in the process of just opening up the floor to questions as he's like pat his last bit. And he's in the process of just opening up the floor to questions as he's like patting his head. A part of your nerves comes from the fact that the lecture hall is more full than you were anticipating.

You thought that you had a rather esoteric or niche study. As you try to answer those questions, you notice someone in the corner catch your eye. There is a massive shadow. And as you look, you notice someone in the corner catch your eye. There is a massive shadow and as you look you notice there is this broad-shouldered goon of a man dressed in black with a full top hat on. He sits in the audience staring at you. You realize he's been staring at you unblinkingly the entire lecture. And now he is cracking his knuckles. SELESTIE I think Theo's been kind of like,

constantly keeps looking back. He doesn't mean to look back, he keeps like looking away immediately, that like reminding himself not to look in that general area. But as soon as he like, sees the cracking of the knuckles, it's just enough to just get him to be fully unnerved. And he says, that's all questions today. And he immediately starts going and putting his papers into his bag profusely, smiling as he does as he's like, you know, trying to scathe off any further conversation. And he's starting to look for the nearest exit. The audience doesn't seem satisfied with this cutting short of the questions and some of them begin approaching you.

As they do, so does the tall man. Again, unblinkingly swocking in your direction, he begins shoving students out of the way as he is getting closer and closer to you. I'll be in town for a little bit more time. Just, just, I'll come back tomorrow, but I didn't realize what time it is. I really do need to go. I'll see you gentlemen later. And he just starts to make a very nervous beeline out the door.

You are able to push past any students that are blocking the doorway. As you make the corner, you are suddenly stopped by a voice, and then you realize there's a four foot five man standing in front of you. He like jumps at it and he's holding, almost like trying to reach out for his ears for a minute. Jesus. Dr. 30, Rook, my name is Agent Stone.

And he puts out a straight hand in your direction. Who? Who are you? Agent Stone. And this is Hammer. As you go to comprehend what he just said, you look and you see the lumbering man is now standing behind you. His eyes are almost bloodshot red looking at you. My good man, do you understand

that you are in an institution of academics? And that requires a level of quiet. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm just naturally loud. Again. Could we speak to you in private for a moment? If that privacy includes a little bit of, you know, quietness from you again, again, very loud, you are echoing through these halls. You are disrupting education. Yeah, sure. We'll be quiet. Just follow me this way. Do you guys have to be so abrasive? I'm walking with them.

Y'all out here like I'm carrying a carton of giggle juice or something. Like Jesus Christ. Oh no, we wouldn't be carrying giggle juice, doctor. That'd be illegal. Right, right, right, right. Yeah. Anyways, I'll like lead them to like one of the lecture halls that are empty. As you're walking, you can't help but notice Agent Hammer, who is staring at you, his eyes shot and he says,

Sorry, I got pink eye. Ain't that contagious? He looks at Agent Stone, who nods his head and says, sorry, and he closes his eyes and looks in the different direction. I take one extra step away from him if he wasn't already making me nervous in size, just the fact that he's carrying something. Once you find yourself in private with the two men, Agent Stone says, Doctor, how would you like to be part of a clandestine mission on American soil fighting for Uncle Sam?

Why? Why? You'd be helping the American people, of course, that's why. Ain't I doing that already with the wonderful studies in which the academic gods had blessed me to be doing that instead of fighting the war? Yes, we are aware of your military record, or lack thereof. of. We can't go into specifics here, but tomorrow at 8pm if you joined us over at the Federal Building in Boston, you might learn a thing or two about a particular town in this state that very few anthropologists have had access to in a couple of decades. Is it what I think it is? He just kind of nods in solidarity.

Now why didn't we start this conversation off with that? That would have been much more easier just to get us through this whole Chewbacca. Of course I would be happy to help. Whatever mission would get me access to Ann Smith. For academic purposes of course. Of course, academic purposes of course. Well here's the phone number, just give it a call to confirm that you'll be there tomorrow night and he hands you over a small card. Are you two going to be there? No, we've the phone number. Just give it a call to confirm that you'll be there tomorrow night. And he hands you over a small card. Are you two gonna be there?

No, we've got other business. Good, good. Unless you'd like me to be. And Hammer opens his eyes and looks back at you. I think you should go see a doctor, son. Good idea. Yeah. He scratches his eye.

Don't rub, don't wash hands. If that's all they're gonna give me, then I'm gonna go spend some coin on a phone call. Sure enough you do. And sure enough, an appointment is made for you to arrive tomorrow at 8pm. You have less than 24 hours before this meeting. Is there anything that the doctor does in the meantime? I think he might just go back to whatever rinky-dink office he might have, make sure that he has any supplies,

maybe let the university know that he's traveling out of office and he won't be here for any remaining lectures that he had because he had a couple more he was supposed to to give. And if they had any problem with it they could take it up with the U.S. government. And then after that he'll just head out to Boston because I think he has to travel a little bit to get them down there You are in Arkham, which means you'll be traveling north to Boston Cora. You'll be traveling south Kennedy You might be more on the Oceanside by Gloucester or Rockport so you'd head inland It is the next day a cold Sunday afternoon in November the next day, a cold Sunday afternoon in November. Inside the Federal Building is a large office room. Arthur Clark, a mild-mannered accountant, has been

sitting there waiting as a group of his fellow agents walk into the room. There is Agent Ryan, Agent Burton, the two folks that met with Kennedy Newell, and a third man that you, Arthur, know as Mr. Drew, a big barrel of a man who is already smoking a lit cigar. They walk into the room and, Arthur, could you describe yourself? What do you look like? Yes, you see, Arthur Clark is a very well dapper individual. He is very kind of short for a male, like five, five, he'll say five, six. He has very, very bushy mustache and is very about keeping his desk clean,

organized, his nails are even clean, very, very polished. Everything is crisp, nice. He has all his good number two pencils ready, and his trusty abacus right there waiting to do any quick corrections. The big barrel of a man walks in smoking his cigar, does a double take when he notices you and kind of speaks in your direction says, who's this? Who's this? You came into my desk. What what? Who are you? Albert Ryan or Agent Ryan speaks up and says, It's the accountant, sir.

Mr. Drew seems to just kind of catalog this and continues as if it doesn't matter to him. And he turns to Agent Ryan and says, Have we heard yet from Mackie? I don't want to ruin his cover, but if we're sending people in anyway... And Ryan interrupts and says, Sorry sir, but Mackie can handle himself. If anything, they'll likely be approached by him first. Ahem. E-excuse me, um...

They both look in your direction. Gentlemen, would this be a conversation best out in the hall? I don't know if I'm supposed to be hearing this. Mr. Drew says, if you're here, it's because you're supposed to hear this. Have you told him? And he gestures to Agent Ryan. And Agent Ryan says, not yet, sir. Mr. Drew turns to you and says, son, you know Lucas Mackie, don't you?

I am aware. I don't know him quite as, like, he's not my best friend. That's Stanley down the hall. He's good people, but he's not my best friend. He's just a good friend. The point is that you know Mackie, and you're a part of this because we'd like you to join this mission that we're about to put upon these four other individuals that are showing up tonight. Arthur's going to straighten up a little bit because you said the words mission and is going to get a little seriously forward. What kind of mission? What kind of mission would be for the that we need me for? A mission that could save the life of Lucas Mackie. Are you in or are you out? Well, when you put it that way, of course I would be in.

That's, that is absolutely yes. Yes, in. Excellent. Well, follow us. And they just start walking away from you. Arthur's gonna get flustered because this is new for him. He is not aware.

So he grabs his abacus because he just doesn't know, and grabs his, you'll notice a very, his briefcase, which is a little on the thicker side, heavy. So it is like, you can hear definitely some rattling of papers, but his pencils and some like metallic things inside, and you're gonna go ahead

and he's just gonna shuffle quickly. They lead you upstairs to the fourth floor to room 402. The rest of you, I'd like you all to make luck rolls, please. We'll say Arthur can also make this roll. First roll of the 20s. Okay, here we go. I fail with a 85. I fail with a 73.

I'm pretty sure I rolled 100. I'm pretty sure I rolled 100. I'm pretty sure I just rolled 100. Oh, that's really cute actually because I rolled a 99. You blow up. I passed with a 12. None of you have put together anything other than you've just been asked to meet with the US Treasury Department.

But Arthur, you are very astute. And as you are walking leading upstairs, you remember about two weeks ago, an acquaintance of yours mentioned that someone came to the office asking about you. There was another incident two weeks prior where someone mentioned that you had won some kind of sweepstakes

and they had asked for your information. Start putting together that there's a good chance that Mr. Drew and Agent Ryan have been tailing you, observing you, maybe for the better part of a month. Not suspicious at all. You work for the US Treasury Department, Clark. You don't have to remind me. I have a lot of very angry people out there who love to remind me. The other four of you arrive roughly around eight o'clock. It is a quiet, empty street in Boston. A light snowfall falls on your shoulders as you approach.

Most of the six story federal building is dark, but there is a row of fourth floor offices whose windows shine brightly with incandescent lighting. You enter and one at a time, you find yourselves at a front desk on the first floor, where there is a young man suited and seated behind desk. There's a visitor's register on the clipboard. What do you each do?

Good evening. I am looking for a Mr. Drew. Ah, yes, of course, please. This way, and he gestures you towards an elevator. Do I need to sign in on this, just as like, proof I was here, or...? That's not necessary, ma'am. Then I'm definitely going to do it, and I will write. Cora's gonna write. As you are walking to the elevator, he takes the paper and rips it off, tears it up, and throws it into the trash.

I'm just gonna watch him do it. I'm not gonna say anything or do anything, just gonna watch. Do I see that happen? That whole thing happen? Sure. I think I'm gonna hear that conversation at least and then not even interact with this person at all, except maybe sign my name, because I think that's funny.

And- Sure, ma'am, that's not necessary. He sighs and tears the paper and says, "'Who are you here for?' This, Drew, Drew. Drew? Head upstairs, 402. Thanks. Um, hold on, wait.

You really, you really thought it was a serp? Uh, for... You know what, don't even worry about it. And then it goes... I don't need the paper. Kennedy arrives with, like, his haversack, with, uh, his trench shovel hanging from the side of his belt with his old putties and gators on his Big old pants. He has his trench gun open carry slung across his chest

And then a single side holster where his m19 sits and his bayonet is in its holster somewhere else as well sits and his bayonet is in its holster somewhere else as well and he rolls right up to the desk and without even speaking to the the receptionist yet he starts to sign his name. You know the war ended a few years ago. That's funny. What are you here for sir? I think 402. Drew? Oh excellent yes just head for the elevator back behind me. Thanks and he walks right by, you know, fixing his shovel and adjusting the shotgun and just sort of whistling a tune on his way over to 402. I think Theo just rushes immediately to the desk, doesn't even realize that there's somebody there and starts to quickly sign their name in. Dr. Theodore Rook here for Mr. Drew. Yes, yes, yes. He takes the clipboard and just like hides it under the desk and says, yes, yes, yes, just head upstairs, head upstairs. Thank you, sir. I mean, just, you know, heads up the stairs.

You all eventually, the four of you find yourselves in the fourth floor. There is a young female receptionist who introduces herself as Miss Jamison. What did you say your name was? She says to Miss Jamison. You introduces herself as Miss Jamison. What'd you say your name was? She says to Miss Jamison. You can call me Miss Jamison. No first name? I was told not to give my first name. You can't make an exception for me.

Sure, I could. Betty. Betty. Nice to meet you. This is all you do, right? You just secretary. I don't mean to, you know, make it small, just wondering what your schedule's like after this. Oh, well, I'm pulling a late-nighter for Mr. Drew, but I get off in about an hour.

Yeah. Do that a lot? Late nights, I mean. Oh, late nights, yes. I, you know, the US Treasury Department is very busy these days with the, you know, with the prohibition and all. Okay, well, you know, I suppose we'll be here. I don't really know what we're here for, but if we're gonna be here for a while and you don't have one of these late nights

counting coins or whatever you do. I do a lot more than just count coins, but if you've never been to the Boston area, I'd be happy to show you around. I'd love that. Well, how about we go to the business at hand, yes? Yes, at hand. And she says, please, just wait a moment

while I make sure that the gentlemen are ready for you. And she steps out for a moment. But Cora, Freddie, Kennedy, and Dr. Rook, you are all alone in this space together. As soon as Cora sees Freddy, she's gonna turn to any person that is even slightly near her and just start talking. Where are you from? What are you doing? And I don't think she even like recognizes them as a like an individual person. She's just trying to have a conversation. I think Kennedy is just staring straight through her.

I mean, not even blinking. I'm from around. That's so incredibly unspecific. You look like you're on a boat. Were you a boat person? I am a boat person. What's your name, boat person? My name is Kennedy Ne a boat person. What's your name, boat person? My name is Kennedy Newell.

Kennedy. What's your name? Not boat person. Cora. I've been on a boat, I didn't like it. I was young though, so maybe I'd like it more now. Do you always talk like this? Always, yes. Lots, lots of talking.

That's what I do. I talk lots. Sometimes not even to people that are living cryptic What's the weirdest thing you've seen on the ocean? I've heard crazy stories, and I want to know yours Well speaking about those things tend to make it come to an existence You don't want to invoke things right I invoke things a lot That's kind of my job sometimes There's a place called Devil's Reef.

It's one of the worst places I've been, or at least heard of. I got close enough. Devil's Reef? Are there devils there? Something like it. Something like... Have you ever seen fireflies where you're from? Yes.

A little like fireflies out on the water, floating just above the surface in the fog, but bigger and brighter than you'd ever think, and you stare long enough and you get lost. It takes a part of you. A part of you you can't get back. The entire party is kind of enraptured in this story and Freddie, you look and you notice that Miss Jamison is at the door and she's also kind of enraptured by the story. She- Oh, oh, excuse me. Um, Mr. Drew is waiting for you in his office. If you'll please just follow me. You are all led down a long hallway into a small office complex and towards an open door.

Inside, you can see a meeting room. There is a long table surrounded by men, some of them in uniform, some of them seated in chairs. Cigar smoke hangs thick in the air. As you enter, some of you recognize Agent Ryan and Agent Burton, specifically Kennedy, but there is a large man who is clearly in charge smoking a cigar at the head of the table. Agent Ryan asks you all to step in and to sit down.

You can see that there is a bookish man with a mustache who is introduced as Miss Arthur Clark. Arthur's gonna stand up when they arrive and make sure that Freddie and Cora... What's your name's like? Uh, Yachay- are you Yachayus? I'm quite capable, thank you though. Yeah, that don't- yeah, you don't have to do that for me. Like, nevermind. No. You are shown to your seats and introduced also to a man in military gear who is Major Joe Mains. Additionally, you are introduced to a man named John Edgar Hoover, the Director of America's Bureau of Investigation.

What? What happened? Who? Just a little J. Edgar Hoover drop, that's all. Wow! You didn't tell me there'd be celebrities. Afternoon, sir. Finally, you are introduced to Mr. Drew.

He's staring very dramatically out the window of this office, and once everyone has found their seat, he turns and takes a drag of his cigar and lets it out of his nose. And he says, gentlemen, ladies, I know you're curious as to why you've been called here tonight. The government needs your aid in a matter of utmost importance. Is anyone here unfamiliar with the town of Innsmouth?

Did you say unfamiliar or familiar? Unfamiliar. Oh, I'm very familiar. Sorry. Excuse me. Did I start a Ryan and he looks at Ryan. Ryan says, I don't know why they did that. Well, because you are all familiar with the area, and in particular the town of Innsmouth, I feel there is no need for me to explain why your government is becoming involved.

A lengthy investigation has been conducted by this department and has revealed the need for swift and sure measures to be taken against the widespread criminal activity we believe is occurring in that town. We believe numerous federal and interstate laws have been violated, including conspiracy to transport illegal alcohol, kidnapping, murder, and possibly even slavery. There is no need for me to elaborate to you the vile and disgusting practices some of these cutthroats and criminals are rumored to indulge in. Although the figures are sketchy, we now assume that at least half the people in that town are involved in a criminal conspiracy of some kind. One that reaches all the way up to the most powerful families in town and he raises his hand dramatically. Needless to say, a police action of this type must be

handled with delicacy, not only to avoid alerting the criminal element in Innsmouth, but also because the action might be viewed by some as a violation of constitutional rights. Never before has federal martial law been declared over an entire township, but the government does feel there is no alternative. Now, before I can speak any further, I must ask you to sign these documents, and he hands passes down the desk to each one of you this thick stack of papers. It is an oath of secrecy binding you to keep secret any events that you should witness or take part of over the next few days. If you wish, you may choose not to sign, but in this case, you will be escorted to accommodations

in the basement of this building. And by law, we can hold you for anywhere up to 72 hours without charges or arrest. Now we have no desire to inconvenience you, but due to the secrecy necessary to this operation, it is essential that we maintain security. Kennedy has already signed. Arthur's going to take out his very nice pen, sign it very flamboyantly, and send it over.

He was going to straighten up his glasses and kind of thumb through it a little bit just to kind of give the impression that he did read through this stack. And then he's going to sign it. So if we do this whole thing and then decide to publish a book about it, you can, you know, do what the government does. Exactly, Ms. Thurman. Just say that. And then signs it. Korra is fitting her monocle into her eye

and fastidiously reading every single line of legalese. Eventually, Korra, it becomes obvious that everyone in the room is staring at you, waiting for you to finish. Whenever you're ready. Do you make a habit of signing things you don't know what they say exactly? I definitely read it all the way through.

All right, well, I'm not as fast as you, sorry. And they'll go back to. I just asked for the whole summary of it. Don't fuck up. Listen, you're not going to want to talk about the things you see in Innsmouth anyways. Cora, if you would like, you can attempt either a law role or a bureaucracy role to try to understand

what it is you're reading. Let's see, do I have anything in either of those? I doubt I do. I'm an esoteric bitch. You're famous for rolling underneath suddenly certain things when you need it, so. Oh, I have 40 in bureaucracy, let's see. Well, that's not bad.

A 32! Hey! Oh, shit! Very on brand for you. You read through it. It is a tight bit of legal paperwork that does instruct like a typical non-disclosure agreement that you will not speak about anything and that the government can hold you liable, possibly even bestow jail time upon you if you were to speak outside of this room about it.

So when we're investigating, we're not allowed to talk about what we're investigating about to each other. Of course, you're all going to be part of a team. So we can talk to each other for as long as we're alive. We prefer that you go to your deathbed with this information. What are we talking about? I don't know, I just want to know how long I can talk to you guys about this before the government says shut the fuck up.

I have to talk to you until I die? You might. Is that what this says? He's so furiously going through the contract. Yeah, maybe you should have read it first. Can we get to the actual matter at hand? I suppose so, and chill sign. Excellent.

He kind of looks at Ryan like, you didn't tell me it was gonna be this obnoxious, but Civvies, what do you expect? He gathers the paperwork and immediately kind of goes right back into it. Our investigation began last summer after the department was contacted by a man named Robert Olmsted of Ohio. While visiting family from Innsmouth the previous summer, the man had innocently stumbled upon what he claims to be a nest of illegal activity. A preliminary investigation proved some of the man's allegations were accurate. And so a secret investigation was launched.

Agents were sent out into the field, and now we find ourselves here with you all. See, we can't get President Coolidge to sign the warrant to raid Innsmouth unless we can show him proof. And as you can understand, it's no easy decision to raid an entire town. Brings a lot of scrutiny to the administration if we aren't rock solid. And this is where you come in, Miss Loquillo. That was very good. Wow, I'm really impressed. Thank you for the effort, genuinely. She is the most qualified photographer we could find in Massachusetts.

Ms. Loquillo is the linchpin to this operation. We are asking all of you to get Ms. Loquillo safely into Innsmouth, assist her in taking photographs of any illicit activity, and then above all else, get her and her photographs back to us. Cora absolutely preens. Just all this for that. Okay. And that's why we have to talk to her until we die.

And even probably after you die, you'll probably have to talk to me. Sir, I have a question. Why am I here then? You're an accountant and we need to make sure that everything stays tip top. Don't let these people spend more than they should. We're on a tight budget here. Apologies. Apologies. Now while I'll leave the final approach to you all, our suggestion is you enter the town under the guise of factory inspectors. The town has been overdue for years and mostly lapsed to the recent discovery of forged inspection paperwork.

We've yet to figure out if by inspection agents themselves or the owners of these factories. Here's as much information as we've been able to gather so far and Agent Ryan approaches with a couple of information as we've been able to gather so far and agent Ryan approaches with a couple of folders and sheets of paper that seem to have different types of graphs and documents and information on them There's a list of some of the incidents that they've been able to log There appears to be testimony from someone named Arthur Anderson We know for sure that the most important family in Innsmouth is the Marsh family. They've run Innsmouth since back in the 1830s. Now nobody's seen old man Barnabas Marsh, the grandson of Obed Marsh, for over 10 years.

His sons are now likely running the ore refinery. The Martin family run the other only business left in town, the fish packing plant. Mr. Drew finally kind of relents and opens up for questions. He sees that Cora has her hand up and he says, yes, Ms. Locayo. What exactly is it you want me to take pictures of? I'm assuming it's not just factory problems, no. We're not interested in the problems of the town when it comes to factory maintenance. No, we want you to document anything that might stand out, things that appear illegal.

Like I said, if they're smuggling alcohol, if there's some kind of illicit activity of any kind, people being held against their will, anything that seems shady. I don't want to be the one who keeps talking, but as the person who is taking the photos, there are lots of problems with taking photos in Innsmouth. I can't use a flash because that's obvious, that someone is doing something bright. And Innsmouth is covered in fog almost all the time. So where's the sunlight that I need to take the photos?

Agent Ryan steps up and he says, uh, Miss Lockeo, we understand the problems and the challenges that you're going to face, but that's why we've assembled a crack team of people to look out for you. Like I said, we really just need one solid photograph of something illicit. So we suggest you take your time, you ingratiate yourself into Innsmouth as best you can, and you strike when the iron is hot. If you catch my meaning. Is there somewhere we could go to buy some additional lights? I don't know how this works.

No problem, there's plenty of photography stores in Arkham and Newburyport. Agent Ryan turns to Arthur Clarke and says, uh, Agent Clarke, is there room in the budget for a vehicle? That might help you get in and out of town, if that's what you could use. Yes, sir. We do have money in the budget for our car. That would be helpful, actually. Maybe the headlights could illuminate things. Cora, you also understand that if you were in a situation where there wasn't a ton of light, but there was enough incandescent light,

you would have about a 50-50 chance of taking a good photo. So you understand mechanically that it would be basically down to a dice roll if you were in a darker area. So we just load up. We keep a light to each of us and we stay close to Korra in case she needs to take a picture or something. Are we being provided documents to say that we're inspectors

or whatever or are we just supposed to just run amounds? If that is the approach you're going to take, absolutely we'll have documents made up for you. What about defense or wherever we're going? If we're going in dark places looking for weird stuff, I don't really see a gallery of soldiers. No offense, but what do we do? What do we have? I take offense. Believe it or not, I can do a good round of fisticuffs. I believe you. Mr. Sturman, if you need weapons of any kind, you can ask for them and we should be able to provide them.

We want to keep a low profile though, so Tommy guns and big shotguns, unless you can hide them, are not recommended. Are we really gonna need that? I mean, it isn't about this is an old town. There's not going to be anybody shooting at us, right? The agents all kind of share a silent stare amongst each other and then say nothing. There's a lot of stories about Innsmouth. What's going on in there? There's a good chance you're going to be shot at, Doctor.

It's been told that they aren't very friendly to strangers, so you'll want to keep a low profile where possible. Don't want to attract any attention. I did go to Innsmouth like a month ago or two months ago. They were fine. So you'll want to keep a low profile where possible. Don't want to attract any attention. I did go to Innsmouth like a month ago or two months ago. They were fine. They had me do a seance. It was lovely. Sort of. It wasn't bad. It's not that scary. Sort of.

Okay, now I'm remembering it wasn't that great actually, um I'm gonna share with you all a list of incidents that have happened from most recent to oldest Some of the incidents listed from the most recent to oldest Brian Burnham has recently gone missing the 18 year old manager of the first national grocery store and incident Disappeared under mysterious circumstances and has not been heard from in days Smith disappeared under mysterious circumstances and has not been heard from in days. His supervisor is District Manager Arthur Anderson of Arkham who reported the boy has not responded to calls. A Treasury agent Bill Forbes went missing while investigating Cole's breakdown. It's been years since his disappearance, presumed dead. July 16th, Robert Martin Olmsted visited the town and returned a day later, fleeing for his very life. He reports to have learned too much about Innsmouth's secrets

and won't give details. In Olmsted's testimony, he made mention that he spoke with a man called Zadok Allen, who told him unsettling stories about Innsmouth's past. Young woman named Jennifer Longstreet says her fiancee, Adam Wilkes, left Innsmouth and has not returned. George Cole, a factory worker at Marsh Refinery, has been hospitalized after having a nervous breakdown six years ago. He's currently residing in Danvers, Massachusetts, State Hospital for the Insane. Many glockchester fishing boats have gone missing in the area. Additionally, I'll share with you the testimony

that they provide by Arthur Anderson. Arthur Anderson's testimony. Anderson's car, as reported by bystanders, came careening down the street, flying along well over the 20 mile per hour speed limit. Swinging a hard right turn, Anderson momentarily loses control of the car, crossing the centerline in front of oncoming traffic. There is a collision with another vehicle of Anderson's and Anderson's radiator is busted, gushing steam. Anderson emerged shakily from his car, looking frightened

but apparently unconcerned about the damage he had caused. A female bystander described Anderson as speaking so fast that he was nearly incoherent, babbling on about some boy missing from a store in Innsmouth. Eventually, Officer O'Hara made it to the scene and questioned Anderson. Anderson is quoted as saying, all the lights were on so I figured he must be in there, even though it was way past closing time. I went inside thinking he was working late in the back. By the way I noticed a kind of funny fishy odor, terribly strong, almost overpowering, but there didn't seem to be anyone about. I don't mind telling you that it scared the hell out of me. What with some of the things people have said about that town. Anyway, the cash register was smashed open and empty. I took a peek in the back and called Brian's name a couple of times,

but no one was around. That was enough for me. I ran out, got into my car and drove all the way back here without stopping. Something funny is going on and the police should be notified. drove all the way back here without stopping. Something funny is going on and the police should be notified. Anderson's crippled car is then towed back to the police station. When questioned about the incident, the Innsmith constables told the police that Brian was caught in the act of burglary, fled town in a stolen car. Turns out the boy has numerous incidents with the police between the age of 13 and 15. Although most are minor, the list is quite long, averaging nearly an incident a month over a two-year span. The last incident, involving the strong-arm robbery of a Miskatonic University student, landed Brian in jail for a night.

Having learned a little about Brian's criminal past and having had the night to think it over, Anderson seems now less sure of foul play. Maybe he did do as they said, but then why did he smash open the cash register? He had the key. That's the one thing I still don't understand. Brian is presumed at large on the run from the authorities. Is this everything? Is this the most current up-to-date incident? This is everything we've been able to catalog so far yes. We recommend you begin in Narcom. Both the

Miskatonic University and the Newbury Port Historical Society are both excellent places to learn about local history. Maybe you'll get a better perspective on the town, an idea about how to approach. Additionally, as you'll notice in the incident report, there was a man who worked in Innsmouth who was sent to the Danvers Massachusetts State Hospital for the insane. We don't think it'll be easy, but you might be able to get something out of this. George Cole. Finally, we know that you are, or at least some of you, are intimately tied to different communities in this area. Perhaps you can find other avenues of discovering the secrets of Innsmouth.

Do any of these, none of these names stick out in the like series of incidents, right? Does it seem like I would have an in maybe with someone I work with or anything? Just looking at these names? None of them in particular. Why don't you make a criminology or intelligence role? That is a failure with a 70. Unfortunately, none of the names really stand out to you. Just seems like a lot of fools that got themselves mixed up in whatever's going on in Innsmouth.

One of these people has the key to your perfect photo. Mr. Newell, you will recognize the name Zadok Allen. Listen, there's a friend of mine who used to work the boats in Gloucester and he went out to Innsmouth thinking that he'd live in the poorhouse and well he never came back and so if we have the opportunity I'd like to look into Zadik. Excellent you have a connection to the town. Yes I'd suggest following up with that. We have other business to attend to so we're going to leave you to it. Feel free to look around. They provide you with a map of the area but but when you're ready to begin, feel free to ask

Ms. Jamison for any supplies that you might need and she can organize a car for you. Mr. Hoover, if you ever get stuck with anything counting here, here's my card. He takes the card and puts it in his lapel, thanks you for your help, and before leaving, Agent Drew says, Good luck, everyone. We're counting on you. And they leave the room. How's Mr. Hoover?

Are you okay? Are you all right? Oh! Are you about to pass over? Can't wait to tell Stanley. Ha-ha! Um... I don't think we got everyone's names all around. Should we just introduce ourselves? I suppose you're all stuck following me around like little ducks. So I'm Cora. Look, look, you look, you see, and you're Mr. Clark. Yes. Um, yes. Arthur Clark, US Treasury audit, which I'm assuming that everyone here is up to date on and pays their fair share in the U.S.

I paid my fair share for sure. The lieutenant. Work with the church, you know. Ah, tax exempt. Freddie. I wasn't aware you were still working with the church, Freddie. It's a good spot. A lot of space.

I could have swore the last I saw you, you were on the docks. Do y'all know each other? Because I'm the one that seems out of the loop here. Just sold me a bottle of vinegar. It's the best harbor for vinegar to come through, so... I'm there sometimes. What's your name? You... You're the only one who hasn't said who they are. Oh, me?

Yes. Oh, I'm sorry. I thought we already knew who I was. I'm Dr. Theodore Rook, PhD Anthropology, Harvard University. Ah, Habermann. Were you on TV or something? Oh, nope. Wrong decade.

Were you in the newspaper or something? Probably, you've probably heard my last disrotation about the mythologies of the colonial east. Of course. That part of the newspaper is always full of exactly what you just said. I don't read. What did you do for your dissertation? I've been kind of debunking some of the spooky things that come out of the early Americas. Okay, but what kind of spooky things? And why?

In Greek, when they didn't know what lightning was, they called it Zeus. Same thing that happens here in us building a colony and stuff like that. Explainable things made spooky. I go in there and figure out what it actually is. You've never had a question you didn't have the answer to, Doctor? Not one that I wasn't prepared to go and find. Have you ever been to a seance?

No, actually. I've always wanted to see what it was about, though. I've heard things. We'll make sure to have one then. All of us together. It's very, very plain. Sometimes it's just people whispering in the dark. And sometimes it's spirits telling you

what you need to know. And Cora gives Freddie the dirtiest look. Do you scare easy, Mr. Clark? I mean, I lived up in New York. That's where I grew up. I've seen a bear once. I've seen a bear. Yeah, it was a big old black bear.

Is this your first time in the field, Mr. Clark? Yes. I that's why I kept asking why I was here. I do audits. Maybe you should start asking yourself if the people back at home office like you. I knew why. Oh, there's a lot of eyes looking at me. There's going to be a lot more on Innsmouth. Uh-huh. Why is Innsmouth so this?

And I point to the list. It's just run down. It's old. No new population coming in. When you have an old population, they get really suspicious of people. That's it. Some people say it's cursed. Curse of greed. Curse of greed.

A lot of money running through that place. Marsh family used to be sailors. Used to be a good, honest family. Rumor is they found something. A way to make gold from nothing, and it turned the town something else. Are you telling me that we might have some counterfeiting from this family and shortchanging the government? Are you telling me that?

Sure. You know what they say about the, well, not just the girls, but the people from Innsmouth, they have that look, that Innsmouth look. It's like, you know, kind of like they've been sucking on lemons, that Innsmouth look. It's like, you know, kind of like they've been sucking on lemons, that like scaly thing. Eyes are big, sunken into their face. It's creepy. They all, well, they all have it, but people from Arkham don't look like that.

Could be the lack of sun. I can't, yanking my, yanking my legs. Well, you'll see it for yourself, and they'll see you. What are we doing here, Commander Lockeo? We taking a car, we taking a train, how are we feeling about transportation? I'm not in charge here, I'm just here to take pictures. A car would be useful, because that's extra light. I will go get the car.

What time would it be? By this point it's probably 9.30 p.m. Well, I don't think we can get anything now. I say we just go ahead and shall we meet up at, I can go procure the car tomorrow and pick everybody and we could just head on out. Sure, we can pick up some of the lights from the photography store

and maybe check out the college since we're in town. That seems like a good place to start as any. So we'll all go meet in Freddy's room tonight. What? Wait, what? We'll drive out in the morning. Wait, no. You said you brought some vinegar, right? I did.

Fine. Oh, then I guess we're meeting in Freddy's. Before we depart, I haven't had a chance for supper. Would anyone like to join me? I am famished. I would love to join you. Sure, we can't had a chance for supper. Would anyone would like to join me? I am famished. I would love to join you. Sure, we can go get some dinner. Yeah.

And so the preparations are made. You head to dinner and those who choose to participate eventually find their way at Freddie Thurman's, where they reveal that they have been keeping some jars of vinegar. The evening passes, mostly without issue. Cora, a long time ago, well, a couple of weeks ago, you had a very strange dream, and all of this talk of Innsmouth brings that dream back. A dream of you suddenly finding yourself in the foggy, dilapidated streets of Innsmouth, compelled to walk to the ocean, compelled to enter the freezing waters until they rise above your head and you are unable to breathe. But you continue deeper and deeper into the dark until just as you are about to lose consciousness from being unable to breathe, you see it some

massive cyclopean city under the waves. And then you wake up in the morning. Are we still at Freddy's? If you chose to stay there overnight? Yes. Otherwise, you can find yourself in your own room. How many other people slept at Freddy's? potentially? Maybe it's just me and Freddy then. I definitely would have gone and got like blackout drunk.

So Kennedy is probably somewhere in Freddie's room with his prosthetic leg detached, sprawled out, drunk as hell. Then Cora probably slept on the couch and after waking from their dream is gonna go find wherever Freddie is. I probably didn't sleep a lot. I'm probably up in the kitchen smoking and like there's a like a journal of just like

notes and thoughts and things and probably what's left at the bottom of a cup of vinegar on the table. Freddie did you actively not sleep or did you get some kind of sleep? I think I slept. I just didn't... I'm up early. Cora's gonna come over and take the glass out of your hand and finish it. Uh... Okay.

You into the fucking docks? Yeah, that's where the work happens. After everything I told you. Yeah, even's where the work happens. After everything I told you. Yeah, even after everything. The real part and the fake part. It wasn't fake. Look, I'm not saying that it's not all. There's something to it, but sometimes it's just fairy dust.

Okay, maybe there's a little bit of fairy dust, but that's only for the rich idiots. Well, you do seem to be making a little bit more money these days. You can be mad at me about Harlem all you want, but I told you not to go to Doc's for a reason. And you can't go to Harlem if you're dead, so stay away from the fucking Docs. I don't know what you expect from me. Look, I have to do this. This is the thing I'm good at. I'm going to keep doing it. And there's no other way to get vinegar here and Obviously there are people that need it and she gestures to Kennedy Send someone else in your crew then

Okay. Yeah to get caught and be messy and risk one more person getting caught up in this that doesn't deserve Consequence they found me without fucking up, Coe. I didn't do anything yet. I mean, obviously I have, but I haven't even been arrested. And they know who I am and where I work. It doesn't matter if I go to the docs or not. I don't care if you don't believe my visions, but this one, it felt different.

It's fine. Obviously I'm here. It's gonna be a while before it has to happen again, and if we... did whatever's happened in Innsmouth, maybe it'll be easier. I got allies there. I have ally there. I'm not trying to send anybody to the bottom of the ocean. Including myself. And I appreciate you caring. I care about you.

I don't want you to care about me. I want you to care about you. I care about me. I care about being successful. And- Giddy, that's not the same thing. It's fine. That's enough.

You're heard. I hear you taking ghost photos for the government now. Well, we'll see how the ghost photos go, if they're of any use. I mean, we could have a lampshade. We could do some shadow shit and spend the rest of the weekend on vacation. Do you think that auditor is going to let us fake things to give to the government? I think we could take them on a scary little hike. I'm not going to give them something that's not real. Rich people are one thing. Lying to the government's a little scarier than that.

We get used to it but I understand it's a big job. I'm glad you're here. It's been a while since we had breakfast. You got anything besides vinegar? Yeah. There's some grits on the stove. Freddie continues breakfast. Hot grits. Oh and at the end, Kennedy foods ready in a second. Oh, it's very clear that Kennedy's been having some terrible dreams. You have your breakfast and you get ready for the day. We'll say that all five of you eventually convened together. Mr. Clark has procured a black sedan from the Treasury Department that fits you all comfortably. It is early in the morning, and we will find out what part of the mystery of Innsmouth

you look into first next session. Thanks for watching! you