Tag: puzzles

The Well Below the Valley, Episode 4: Lost Daughters

A bleak, leafless tree against a sepia-toned sky. Text reads: Space Whales Press presents The Well Below the Valley, an audio drama

Table of Contents

Dramatis Personae
(in order of appearance)

Professor Josef DIETRICH, colleague of the murder victim. Male, mid 40s, German accent. 

Detective Chief Inspector ISKANDAR Meshkia, a man who has held many titles in his life but none more important than “Baba.” Male, late 30s, strong Turkish accent.

Dr. ERNEST Wilde, botanist and puzzle enthusiast. Male, early 30s, Northern English accent.

Eloise “ELLIE” Westmont, a private investigator of many skills. Female, mid 20s, posh English accent.

FREYDÍS Emundrsdóttir, the late professor’s next of kin. Female, late 20s, slight Icelandic accent.

The memory of MUSTAFA Effendi, Iskandar’s childhood friend, now deceased. Male, early 30s, could speak with a Turkish or English accent.

The memory of HALIME, a princess in her father’s eyes, now deceased. Female, about five years old, could speak with a Turkish or English accent.

Mrs. JUDITH Rosenfeld, who was very proud the day she installed a telephone in her building. Female, late 40s, slight Yiddish accent.

EMILIA Niyazova, flapper and velocipedist. Female, early 20s, slight Russian (actually Kazakh) accent.

Constable John TAYLOR, just doing his job. Male, early 20s, London accent.

Constable ANTONY St. John, fencing enthusiast and important alibi. Male, early 30s, London (specifically Estuary) accent.

Chief Superintendent Winston PEMBROKE, Sr., a representative of the system. Male, early 60s, English accent with audible mustache.

Scene 1: Int. Oxford Faculty of History – Day

Continue reading “The Well Below the Valley, Episode 4: Lost Daughters” →

New Patreon Post/ The Well Below the Valley, Episode 11

In this episode, the stakeout of Milton’s Rare Books goes immediately awry, and our investigators have their first taste of real magic (and it’s not great for them). You can download the annotated PDF on Patreon, and you can check out a free preview below the cut.

The Well Below the Valley is the script for an audio drama based on my module of the same name for the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game system. If you’re not worried about spoilers, you can check out the module here.

Continue reading “New Patreon Post/ The Well Below the Valley, Episode 11” →

Chapter Three: The Singer of Tales (Part Two)

The Well Below the Valley cover image: A dead tree stands on a field of short grass, against a blank gray sky. Bottom text reads, "A fan-made Call of Cthulhu module."

Table of Contents

The investigators are in Dublin, seeking an artifact and some information from the late professor’s demolitions team. The cult is here as well, and they are planning something even more terrible than they attempted in Oxmoor. A young woman, Grace Callahan, has already gone missing. The investigators are running out of time.

(All page numbers refer to the Seventh Edition of the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rulebook, published 2015 by Chaosium, Inc. I am in no way affiliated with Chaosium or the writers of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game system. Content notes for this chapter: violence, kidnapping, murder, blood sacrifice, eldritch horror.)

Continue reading “Chapter Three: The Singer of Tales (Part Two)” →

Chapter Three: The Singer of Tales (Part One)

The Well Below the Valley cover image: A dead tree stands on a field of short grass, against a blank gray sky. Bottom text reads, "A fan-made Call of Cthulhu module."

Table of Contents

Having thwarted the cult in Oxmoor, though perhaps not without casualties, the investigators now know they must travel to the island in order to stop them once and for all. Before they can do that, however, they must first stop in Dublin to obtain the “key of the hierophant” from the professor’s former demolitions team, who stole it when they learned they would not be paid. This is a momentous and bloody time for Ireland, and the investigators will find themselves in the very tense quiet between storms. As temporal politics rage on, the cult is still making plans of the supernatural sort—and by now, the investigators are starting to experience the effects of the terrible island as the artifacts they have obtained plague them with nightmares.  

(All page numbers refer to the Seventh Edition of the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rulebook, published 2015 by Chaosium, Inc. I am in no way affiliated with Chaosium or the writers of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game system. Content notes for this chapter: mentions of WWI, the Anglo-Irish War, the Easter Uprising, and the Irish Civil War; mentions of terrorism and bombings, homophobia, and blood sacrifice; references in folklore to rape, incest, and infanticide.)

Continue reading “Chapter Three: The Singer of Tales (Part One)” →

Chapter Two: Green Grows the Lily (Part Three)

The Well Below the Valley cover image: A dead tree stands on a field of short grass, against a blank gray sky. Bottom text reads, "A fan-made Call of Cthulhu module."

Table of Contents

The time of the summoning grows closer and closer. Can the investigators find the cult’s base of operations and stop the ritual?

(All page numbers refer to the Seventh Edition of the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rulebook, published 2015 by Chaosium, Inc. I am in no way affiliated with Chaosium or the writers of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game system. Content notes for this chapter: kidnapping, murder, blood sacrifice, potential mob violence, eldritch horrors.)

Continue reading “Chapter Two: Green Grows the Lily (Part Three)” →

Chapter One: The Souls of the Heathens (Part Two)

The Well Below the Valley cover image: A dead tree stands on a field of short grass, against a blank gray sky. Bottom text reads, "A fan-made Call of Cthulhu module."

Table of Contents

The investigators return to London after gathering clues in Oxford and learning of the tragedy that befell Professor Ragnarsson’s expedition to the North Sea. While they try to hunt down the professor’s murderer and make sense of what he left behind, they find that something far stranger is happening here—and they are all in grave danger.

(All page numbers refer to the Seventh Edition of the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rulebook, published 2015 by Chaosium, Inc. I am in no way affiliated with Chaosium or the writers of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game system. Content notes for this chapter: murder, mentions of sexism and racism, drowning, possible mind control, discussion of WWI and loss of loved ones.)

Continue reading “Chapter One: The Souls of the Heathens (Part Two)” →

Chapter One: The Souls of the Heathens (Part One)

The Well Below the Valley cover image: A dead tree stands on a field of short grass, against a blank gray sky. Bottom text reads, "A fan-made Call of Cthulhu module."

Table of Contents

It is February 13, 1922, and it is a cold and rainy Monday morning in London.  Three days ago, Professor Emundr Ragnarsson was found dead in his hotel room. The investigators will visit and revisit various important locations, speaking to witnesses and gathering clues in order to find out who killed the professor.  Meanwhile, a rival detective at Scotland Yard will be conducting his own investigation, and an acquaintance of the victim’s has his own theories as to what happened. The real killer is out there, however, and the investigators must discover the truth before he and the mysterious organization he serves strike again. 

(All page numbers refer to the Seventh Edition of the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rulebook, published 2015 by Chaosium, Inc. I am in no way affiliated with Chaosium or the writers of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game system. Content notes for this chapter: murder, mentions of sexism and racism, memory loss/mind control, drowning.)

Continue reading “Chapter One: The Souls of the Heathens (Part One)” →