Ghost of the Garnier Play Report Session #2

The second and final part of Ghost of the Garnier.  The Yellow King RPG, a Gumshoe Quickshock game based on the Robert W. Chambers stories by Robin D Laws .

...Here Be Spoilers...

Paris, 1895

The Composer

Emboldened by the hoodwinking of Picou and Larsonneau, the group decide to pay a visit to Cuvier, the composer and prominent name on the poster. They find his flat nearby but on the journey, Sandy decides to make a detour, a quick costume change into full evening attire and a search around his flat for his old service revolver and a bucket load of ammo.

Cuvier

Meeting with the group at the entrance to Cuvier's flat, Sandy and the others see the door open and a energetic, strongly built figure at the piano, the man is hammering away at a strange score, adjusting his notes and trying again, a mixture of zeal and pain clouds his face, on the piano sits a gun.

The conversation is brief and strained, Cuvier must return to his work as he is past his deadline, he explains the gun is for those neighbours who complain about the noise.  The group do understand from Cuvier that it was mainly Brisson, Picou and Larsonneau that dealt with the mysterious benefactor and also that the same benefactor seems to be giving singing lessons to Celeste and... it is working!  Finally, Cuvier gives them all a taster of the score for the opera, a mind blasting, sanity shredding cacophony, most resist it but Ainsley is brought to his knees before running shrieking from the room... much to the manic grin and bravo-ing from Cuvier.

In the Stalls

The group high tail it back to the Opera, to see Celeste in a showing of Helle, it is a dull affair, but they notice a strange hand part the curtain of one of the boxes as soon as Celeste comes on stage, Celeste falters but seems to recover, as though hit by lightning, her gaze never wavering from the box.

The Box

Leigh and Dominique take a detour to the box where they saw the hand part the curtains, the box is empty, but a curious smell assaults their nostrils, a mixture of orchid, cinnobar and ... corpse flowers!  The smell is everywhere, though starts to dissipate the longer they stay in the box.  Also, they discover a red envelope and a letter that suggests Picou and Larsonneau are being asked to pay out considerable sums of money, but to who and why?  The threat though is clear.  The letter is signed "G.".  Lastly, a strange hatch into the crawlways above the theatre is seen with the mark of a Lyre, Ainsley the architect would doubtless know more.

Celeste

Whilst Leigh and Dorian investigate the box, the remainder of the group determine that Celeste is their best bet for a lead on the mystery fellow, they spy her and as she makes a run for it, Lesley and Sandy manage to corner her backstage, Beverley trips unceremoniously falling at Celeste's feet.  Ainsley high tails it out of there.  Dorian decides to search the dressing rooms.

On speaking to Celeste, it is clear she is making up a story about here and De Roudier, she eventually admits there is different benefactor, someone dangerous and ghastly.  She collapses into a heap as she mentions this and is escorted from the room by a colleague.  Dorian has made an effort to cover all the mirrors in the dressing room, Sandy peers underneath, raising his eyebrows at his cousin, but this strange act is dismissed by Dorian.

Celeste

The group see Leigh and Dominique heading towards them across the theatre, when a crack is heard, they look up, only to see a chandelier plunging towards them.  They scatter but many of the group are hit or pinned under the falling glass.  Sandy bravely pulls Dorian to the side, saving a serious injury to his cousin.

Whilst most of the group tend to their wounds and the opera house staff fuss around, Sandy sees an opportunity and sneaks off to the office of Picou and Larsonneau.

Searching the Office

After sending an usher scurrying, who queried why Sandy was back here, Sandy is left free to look through the offices, he finds a number of red envelopes and letters, asking for money or unpleasant fate will befall the owner of the opera house plus a full list of addresses for all the staff at the opera house.  He exits through a side entrance, coming back round to the front of the Palais Garnier and heading on in.

The Crawlways

Meanwhile, the group, somewhat recovered or at least patched up, have decided to head back up to the box, where upon Ainsley suggests the vent with the Lyre, is much larger than normal and could accommodate a person quite easily, could this be how the masked man left the box?

One of the group fetches Sandy and they squeeze up into the crawlways and head through over the stage, they spot where someone has sawn through the rope attaching the chandelier, moving further on they come across a stash of rifles, they arm themselves. Latterly, they discover a rolled up body shaped package which seems, as they unwrap it, to suggest Le Duc has met his end.  As they ponder this last mystery, a bullet hits Leigh, he groans and slumps to the floor.  The rest of the group turn and see a black caped and masked character climbing down to the stage.   The group help Leigh, who was just winged, to his feet and head after the figure, the masked assassin has sprung on to the stage, opened up a trapdoor and disappeared into the dark.

The Lake

The group chase across the stage and down into the depths of the Palais Garnier, they hear footsteps and head off in that direction, the tunnel they choose seems to take them far beyond the boundaries of the Garnier and eventually they are faced with a bronze door that is emblazoned with a white mask.

Shifting open the door... they are struck by a pale white sky with pulsating black stars, a golden city shimmers in the distance, far across an expansive lake.  Just near to the shore is a skiff, with the masked apparition and Celeste in it.

Beyond the bronze door

The group shout directions and try and subdue the masked creature, a flurry of blow rain down on the beast as it opens it's mask and a horrific, unforgettable caterwauling brings Ainsley to his knees once more.  Sandy charges into the fray, with his bayonet attached to the rifle he found, he plunges it deep into this abomination and tries to force it under the water, but it is only as first Lesley and then Dominique join forces that they are able to break the creature and bind it.

They agree with the creature that he will "no longer lead the armies of Carcosa to earth" and battered the thing makes it's way across the Lake of Hali.  They gently lead Celeste back to reality.

Many months later, Dorian is pondering the adventures and the continued grip they have on his dreams, when a parcel arrives from his old drinking buddy, Gaston... he unwraps it...

GM Notes: I plan to do a fuller write up of how I went about setting up and running this one-shot for a group of D&D5e/Pathfinder players, my regular Friday group.  We ran it on roll20 with discord for sound and it is with much thanks I have to give the group for trying something new and giving me so much greater feedback.